A feudal fairytale: The younger generation
by JadeCrispy
Summary: It has been eight years since Naraku's death and trouble is brewing again. A mysterious nymph comes to Kaede's village to bring news of a new demon who must be stopped. Together, Shippo, Rin, Kohaku, Kirara and their new found friend Kanade must go on an adventure to stop this demon. A few pairings
1. Chapter 1: Reunion and a stranger

Hi everyone, this is my first Inuyasha Fanfiction. I hope you like it.

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><p><span>Chapter 1: Reunion and a stranger<span>

Shippo's P.O.V

Hello everyone, my name is Shippo. I am a great fox demon! Along with my friend: Kagome, Inuyasha, Sango and Miroku, and a bunch of other people, we defeated the powerful Naraku. I helped a lot! It's been eight years since that has happened and five years after Kagome returned to us from her world. Many things has changed then, especially me.

I looked at myself at the lake's reflection. I smiled, I've grown a lot. To many people I look like a 15 year old boy. The boy who looked back at me had sandy brown long hair tied up with a blue ribbon, pointed ears and bright green eyes. He was also wearing a blue kimono with a fur jacket. I recently have been ranked number 2 in the fox examination. I was so close to being first! I wish father could see me now…

" Hey Shippo! You've returned!" A feminine voice called out. I looked behind me and stood up.

A woman with long back hair down to her waist came towards me. She was wearing a priestess clothing. I smiled brightly. " Kagome!" I called out as I ran towards her and gave her a big hug. It's nice to see her now, it's been such a long time. I heard she's been learning about the medical herbs from Jenenji, exorcism from Lady Kaede and she's now married to Inuyasha. As expected, I was wondering when Inuyasha would face his own feelings.

" Wow, you have grown a lot." Kagome said looking up at me. It's true, I'm taller than Kagome now, just to think I used to look up at her a lot. My hair grew longer too.

" Yeah, I have. I've become stronger too! I'm ranked number two in the fox examination!" I told her.

" Wow, that's really good. Come, everyone will be glad to see you!" Kagome said. I smiled and followed her back to Kaede's village. Not much has changed though. Same field, same houses. I wonder how everyone is doing? Then I saw a small child in a dark blue kimono run towards me. He had long white hair and… dog ears? He was being chased by two twin girls with short hair. One wore a pink kimono and the other a green kimono. They seemed to be having fun chasing the small dog boy. Another boy in a brown kimono was also being chased. He had light brown hair and was running along side with the dog boy.

" Mama! Mama! Help me!" The dog boy cried out then hugged Kagome's leg. He looked scared to death. The other boy cried out and held Kagome's leg too. Huh?

" Hey! Fox boy is back!" One of the girls exclaimed. Then they ran to me and hugged my legs. I looked down at them. Oh! It's Chie and Chika! Sango and Miroku's children. Chie is the one in the green kimono and Chika's the one in the pink kimono.

" Hey Chie, hey Chika! Nice to see you again!" I said as I ruffled both their heads. They both smiled at me. Then I looked at the two boys.

" I guess the human boy is Sora right?" I said, he must be Sango and Miroku's child. " He's grown a lot. Who's the other child?"

Kagome picked the dog boy up and " This is my son, Takeo."

" Your son?" I said as I blinked. I looked closely at the child. He looks like about four years old. He got nervous and cling unto Kagome's shirt tightly. He looks so much like Inuyasha, yet it's not him.

" Hello Takeo! My name is Shippo, a good friend of your father and mother!" I said. Takeo looked even more nervous.

" Shippo! Shippo! Are you going to be staying here for awhile?" Chika asked as she pulled on my pants.

" Of course! It's been awhile since I've seen everyone. Where's your parents?" I asked her.

" Mama is with Rin-chan and Granny Kaede in Kaede's house. Papa and Inuyasha-sama went out of exorcist demons again." Chie explained.

" I bet Miroku is going to cheat other people again." I said then sighed.

" Come on! Mama will be glad to see you!" Chika said as she pulled on my sleeve. Chie pulled on the other sleeve and pulled me towards Lady Kaede's house. I stumbled and quickly said " Woah woah! Slow down! I'm coming!"

I followed- more like dragged- all the way to Lady Kaede's house. Kagome, Takeo and Sora followed along. The twins ran ahead of me when they saw the house and I ran in after them. I pushed the wooden curtain away and called out " Sango! Rin! Lady Kaede!"

The three women in the room looked up at me. Lady Kaede looked as the same as before. But she didn't look as strong as she is suppose to be. She had more wrinkles on her face. Her long white hair looked more frayed. She looked at me with her one eye (the other was covered with an eye patch). Sango smiled at me. She's like before. Not much has changed about her. She looks more motherly, I wonder if she still goes slaying demons now and then.

It was Rin who changed the most. Her jet black hair was long and smooth, she has grown a lot taller too, almost Kagome's height. She looked at me with her bright brown eyes. She had a white flower in her hair. She also wore a white kimono with beautiful designs on it. It must be another gift from Sesshomaru. She held a katana in her hand.

" Oh Shippo! You're back!" Sango said. Then she stood up and hugged him " You have grown."

" Yeah I get that a lot." I said.

" Hello Shippo!" Rin called out, waving her arm around.

" Nice to see you again." Lady Kaede said " What have you been doing?"

I sat down in front of the three women. " I've been training myself to become a stronger full flagged demon! I'm ranked number 2 in the demon fox examination!" I grinned proudly. All the children were inside now. Chie and Chika were surrounding their mother and Sora was playing with Takeo.

" Wow, that's really strong!" Rin praised. I smiled brighter. I love receiving praises. Maybe one day I'll be strong enough to beat Inuyasha!

" So how about you three? What has been going on?" I asked.

" I've been recently training Chie and Chika the ways of demon slaying. They are old enough to learn now. Sora's doing fine. I have been going out slaying demons with houshi-sama once in awhile. Rin also joins our practices." Sango said.

" Eh? Rin's going to be a demon slayer?" I said, confused.

" No, I'm just learning how to fight. When I return to Sesshomaru's side, I will need to learn how to fight. So I asked Sango for help. I also help Lady Kaede with her duties." Rin said.

" I'm doing the same like I've always been. Though it is nice having Rin around." Lady Kaede said.

" I guess I've been gone for too long. I didn't even know Kagome and Inuyasha had a child of their own." I said as I looked at Takeo. He looks so shy, a polar opposite of Inuyasha. Takeo noticed I was looking at him and he blinked at me.

Kagome then entered the room, along with Inuyasha and Miroku. Inuyasha was carrying two barrels while Miroku carried one. " That was just mean Miroku. You charged them way too much." Inyasha said as he put the barrels on the ground

" Come on, I have a family of my own to support. Of course I have high prices." Miroku said as he put his barrel down. Sigh… Inuyasha and Miroku hasn't changed at all.

" Oh? Shippo! Hey! Where have you been all this time!" Inuyasha called out, then he ruffled my hair. " You've grown a lot, but you still look like the same old brat!" Gah! Inuyasha!

" Hey! Don't call me a brat!" I yelled as I stood up. I looked up at him… damn, he's still taller than me.

" Hello Shippo, long time no see." Miroku said.

" Daddy!" Sora called out as he went to Miroku. Takeo quickly ran to Inuyasha and hugged his leg. Inuyasha looked down at his son, confused. Then Takeo softly said " Papa, Chie and Chika bullied me again."

" Again?" Inuyasha said.

" Come on, we were just having fun!" Chika said.

" Yeah! What she said!" Chie said. Inuyasha sighed then squat down to look at his son. Then he said " Hey Takeo, you must be tough! Your father is a great half demon, strong and brave. You must be like that too."

Then he grabbed my long ponytail. Huh? Inuyasha pulled on it hard and I fell unto the ground. Ouch! Inuyasha… you will pay… " Hey, let's start training. How about trying to beat this fox demon up?"

" Fox fire!" I yelled out loud as I shot a pillar of blue fire at Inuyasha's hand. Inuyasha yelled out in pain as he let go of my ponytail and shook his hand. The fire went out immdiately. I grinned as I stood up, ha! Serves him right. No one uses me as a punching bag!

" Gah! Damn! That was actually hot!" Inuyasha exclaimed.

" Papa?" Takeo asked as he shook Inuyasha's arm.

" Ha ha! Don't underestimate me Inuyasha!" I called out.

" Why you…" Inuyasha growled. Suddenly, the earth shook the ground. What was going on? Sota held unto Miroku and cried. Takeo screamed in fear. Chie and Chiko clung unto Sango. Sango, Rin and Lady Kaede stood up.

" What is going on?" Sango said.

" It's coming from outside." Miroku said. We all quickly ran out of Lady Kaede's home with our weapons. A loud roar filled the air. We looked around. We couldn't see anything. What is going outside?

We heard some of the villagers scream. We looked at the direction of the commotion. Suddenly, a girl around my age jumped out of the rumbling houses. Did she cause the attacks… wow, she's pretty. She's slightly shorter than Kagome. Her long white hair flew in the air, she also had two hair loops which is her fringe. Her eyes were of a light blue, she also had pale skin and pointed ears. She wore a short, low cut, blue dress with black tights. She also wore blue shoes.

Another demon came out of the rubble. It looked like a huge armoured lizard. I didn't flinch. I've been practicing with small demons and I can fight bigger demons now. The girl looked behind her and flinched before landing on the ground and ran. I realised that she was injured, her legs and back were covered with blood, she had a lot of cuts and bruises.

" Kagome, Sango, Lady Kaede, bring the children to a safe place, We'll deal with this." Inuyasha said. Kagome nodded and lead the children away. Inuyasha and Miroku ran towards the beast.

" Rin, please take Chie, Chika and Sora to a safe place. I'm going to help." Sango said. She ran ahead with her Hiraikotsu. I ran too, but in another direction. Towards the girl.

The girl ran to some distance towards the fields, away from the villagers. Then the girl stopped and turned around the face the demon. The demon charged towards her. Inuyasha and Miroku were following closely after the demon. The girl raised her right hand, a steam of water from the field formed a long rope on her hand. Huh? Is she a nymph?

The girl jumped up high towards the demon. The girl raised her water rope hand and yelled out " Water Whip!" The water wimp wrapped itself around the demon's neck. The girl pulled the whip, the demon slowly fell to the ground. The girl dropped to the ground and retracted her water whip. Wow, she's strong.

" Hey! Are you okay?" I asked as I went to her. She looked at me, in both shock and surprise. She narrowed her eyes and yelled " Move away!"

The demon quickly got up, hitting the girl fro her back. She flew in the air, towards me. I quickly jumped and caught her in the air. I landed on the ground. She looked at the demon and narrowed her eyes at it. Inuyasha, now in mid air, drew his Tessaiga. The Tessaiga transformed to it's original form. Before Inuyasha could do anything, a large white pickaxe hit the head of the demon. The demon yell down in pain and fell to the ground. The pickaxe went up and went back to it's owner. I looked up.

" Looks like I came in time." Kohaku said. He's changed a lot too. He is a lot taller now and older but he pretty much looks like the same. The same guy who help me get into the large spider demon ball eight years ago. He was riding in Kirara- in her demon form of course. Kirara! I haven't seen her in awhile

" Kohaku! Kirara!" I called out.

" Wind Scar!" Inuyasha yelled out loud and swung his sword. Four beam of light shot out of his Tessaiga and hit the demon, destroying it to many pieces. The girl's eye were wide. Then… the demon was no more. What was left was pieces of large flesh and bones. Inuyasha put his Tessaiga back into his scabbard. Miroku went to the remains of the demon and said a small prayer. Kirara landed on the ground and Kohaku got off. Sango had just arrived.

" Kohaku!" Sango called out.

" Hello Anue." Kohaku said.

" Kohaku, nice to see you again." Miroku said.

" What are you doing here?" Inuyasha asked.

" I've come to visit. I didn't know a demon was rampaging here." Kohaku said as I went closer to them.

" Yeah, it was chasing the girl." Inuyasha said. Kohaku and Miroku looked at me. The girl then said " Put me down." I did as she told me. The girl stood on her own two feet. I became worried. She held her right arm as she went to the men. She was limping.

" A-are you sure you are alright?" I asked.

" I'm fine…" the girl said. Then she said to everyone " Thank you…" Suddenly, she collapsed on the ground before us. I quickly went to her and held her in my arms. She looks so pale.

" Hurry! Get help!" I shouted.

…

" She's got many injuries." Lady Kaede said. " But she will heal."

" Poor girl…" I murmured. I was worried. The girl had came into the village in such a sate, I wonder how she managed to fight in such a condition. Is it because she's a nymph. I can tell she's one by her ears and powers. Kagome had went out to get more herbs. Rin was wiping off the blood on her arms with a cloth.

" She will be okay." Lady Kaede said. Kohaku then came into the house. He sat down across me, beside the girl and Rin then said " How is she?"

" She's doing okay. She needs a few days of rest." Rin said." Did you see your niece and nephews yet?"

" Yeah, they were glad to see me. I was glad to see them too. I'm happy that Sango's happy. The children wanted to come in to see this girl." Kohaku said.

" I wonder where she came from…" I said as I looked down at the girl. Her face wasn't peaceful, I wonder what she's dreaming.

" There's something strange about her." Lady Kaede said.

" What's wrong?" Rin asked.

" It's her aura. It's… not pure. There's something mixed with it." Lady Kaede said.

" Yeah… I feel like something uneasy about her." Kohaku said. " It's not natural."

" How so? I don't see anything." I said.

" It's her skills. Nymphs are peaceful creatures. They protect nature and heal. Some play harmless trick one humans. If they had to attack, they would need weapons. This nymph however… she used her water powers to attack, something that nymphs cannot do." Lady Kaede said.

" Look! She's waking up!" Rin said. We all looked at the girl. Her eyes slowly opened.

Kanade's P.O.V

My eyes slowly opened. I stared at a wooden ceiling. What happened? What happened to those guys who helped me? I slowly got up. Then a old voice said " Be careful, you're injured."

I ignored the voice and stretched out my arms and gave out a loud yawn. My fists hit something hard. Two voice yelled out in pain. Huh? A sudden pain went though my back and I pulled back my arms, trying to bear with the pain. Then I remembered. The rock demon… he threatened to kill me.

" Ouch…" a voice said.

" Hey! Watch where you stretch okay!" Another voice yelled. I got confused and looked behind me. There were two boys. One of them was a human boy. His pitch black hair was tied up into a small pony tail. His small eyes were shut and has freckles on his face. He wore a light blue short kimono. He rubbed the side of his head with his hand.

The other boy was a fox demon. He has dark sandy brown hair which was tied into a long ponytail. His green piercing eyes glared at me. He wore a blue kimono of a darker shade( the shirt was designed with leaves) and a brown fur vest. Wait… I've seen these boys before. The human boy was the one who killed the demon along with the dog demon. And the fox boy was the one who saved me.

" Calm down! She didn't know! She just woke up!" A girl exclaimed. She looks about a year older than me. She wore a white flower in her long black hair that goes down to her waist and a white kimono. She looked at me, smiled and said " How are you doing."

" How did I get here? What happened to the demon?" I asked her.

" The demon was slayed." An old woman said. She had an eye patch over her left eye. Her long white hair was tied into a ponytail and she wore priestess clothing. I guess she's a priestess. " Shippo brought you here. Kagome and I treated your wounds."

Shippo? Who's that? I've heard of that name from somewhere before… " Yeah and you payed me by hitting me on the head?!" The demon fox said, I could see a bump on his head. Oh… so his name's Shippo.

" Sorry I didn't know. Sorry to you too… um…" I said as I looked at Shippo then the human boy.

" Kohaku, my name is Kohaku. It's okay." The human boy said as he sat up straight.

" I'm Rin and this is Lady Kaede." The girl said and introduced the old woman to me. " May we know your name?"

" Kanade, it's Kanade." I said.

" Kanade? That's a nice name." Kohaku said. I smiled, he seems nice.

" How did you get here?" Lady Kaede asked.

" I was travelling when I came upon the rock demon. I demanded if he knew a demon named Shiguri but the demon yelled at me to go away and attacked me. Somehow I stumbled upon his village while fighting the demon. I'm sorry for intruding." I said.

" It's okay." Lady Kaede said. Kohaku was about to say something when we saw a small boy come into the house. The boy hair long white hair and dog ears. He wore a blue kimono and was no older than 4 years old. It was another demon… but I could smell he had some human blood in him. A hanyou? No… there is more human blood than demon blood…

" C-can we come in?" the boy timidly said.

" Yes you may, but please don't crowd her." Rin said. But the boy reacted before Rin could finished her sentence. The demon boy smiled brightly then went outside to call for someone. Then, three other children came in. Two twin girls and one small boy. The two girls sat beside me and they asked many questions.

" Who are you?"

" Where did you come from?"

" Are you a nymph?"

" What other amazing water powers do you have?"

" Did you defeat the lizard demon?"

Wow, these girls are talkative. How can I handle this… I'm not that all good with kids…

" Calm down girls." Lady Kaede said " Kanade just woke up."

" Are you okay?" The boy asked me. I nodded and said " I'm fine. I just need to rest that's all."

" You smell like a demon." The demon boy said.

" You obviously look like one." I said.

" Demon?" Shippo, Rin and Kohaku said in surprise.

" She has the demon scent." A man said as he entered into the house. He looks like the demon boy, the long white hair and dog ears. He also had bright orange eyes. He wore a red kimono and had a sword strapped unto his belt. He's the one who killed the demon earlier. Is he the father of the boy? He has a human scent mixed within him too. " Who are you exactly?"

" Kanade, I'm from a tribe of water nymphs who live near a large river." I said.

" Don't lie to me, I know you aren't just a nymph. I know the scent of demon wolf blood from anywhere. I don't really life wolves." The man said. He can tell.

" Wolf demon?" Kokaku said.

" So she's a hanyou too?" One of the girls said.

" Yes… I'm part water nymph and part wolf demon." I said.

" That explains why she can attack using her water powers." Lady Kaede said.

" Who are you anyway?" I asked the man.

" I'm Inuyasha." The man said. Wait… he's Inuyasha?! The Inuyasha?! I smiled brightly and said " You're Inuyasha?!"

" Yeah, why?" Inuyasha said.

" Oh my gosh! You're my idol!" I exclaimed. Inuyasha looked at me weirdly. The rest also seems confused. " I've heard a lot about you. I've heard stories on how you and your gang defeated the evil Naraku and obtained the sacred jewel! That is so awesome! Especially since you're a hanyou, I guess it made me do things I thought I could never do before. That is amazing! How you used the Tessaiga to defeat him!"

" Ha! That wasn't easy but I did. It was a team effort." Inuyasha said.

" Hey, have you heard of me too?" Shippo asked.

" Yeah, I knew your name seems familiar. You're Inuyasha's sidekick who helps everyone." I said. Shippo's face looked sad. Did I say something wrong?

" Hey! I'm a great hero too!" Shippo complained.

" I'm sure you are." Kohaku said.

" Eh? Shippo is a sidekick." The other girl said.

" I'm not surprise." her twin said.

" I'm not a sidekick!" Shippo yelled at the girls. The girls hid behind me and said in unison " Help us Kanade-sama!"

" Huh? Did I get promoted or something?" I said, looking at the two girls.

" Humph!" Shippo said before sitting down, facing away from me. His arms were crossed. What did I do?

" Earlier you mentioned about a demon named Shiguri? I've heard of his name for sometime but I don't know who he is." Kohaku said.

" Shiguri is a powerful demon who destroys. I do not know his intentions. It seems like he's attack places with lost a power to gain power or selfish benefit. I suspect that he was the one who destroyed my tribe." I said.

" Your tribe… was destroyed?" Rin said. I closed my eyes and nodded. I remember the demon fire… my fellow tribe members being ripped to pieces… and I couldn't do anything… I should have saved someone. At least one…

" Kanade." Shippo's voice awoke up. I looked at him, then I realised I was crying. I wiped away my tears and said " My tribe was holding in something special, they never told me what it was. They said a hanyou shouldn't know. But something was after it, whatever it is it must be of great use. I first thought it was the wolf tribe my demon father belonged to so I spent my time travelling to various tribes to see which one was the culprit. I eventually found Koga's wolf tribe…"

" Koga? What about him?" Inuyasha asked. I looked at him and said " You know him?"

" He hate him. He used to flirt with Kagome all the time. He gets jealous all the time and ends up fighting him." Shippo said. Then he was hit on the head by Inuyasha. Shippo cried out in pain " Hey! What did you do that for!"

" Shut up you brat!" Inuyasha exclaimed.

" Um… well I demanded if it was his tribe that killed mine. Koga asked why I suspected the wolf tribes because his wolf tribe never attack any other creatures. I told him of my father and Koga told me my father was an outcast, a lone wolf. So no wolf tribe will attack mine. But then there was an attack on Koga's tribe soon as I was about to leave. He seems to be a servant of the demon Shiguri. He escaped, but his sudden attack was similar to the one on my tribe. I've been trying to find Shiguri since." I explained.

" There has been a sudden increase of demon attack recently." Kohaku said. " Do you think they are connected?"

" Most likely. When will I be able to travel again Lady Kaede?" I asked her.

" In a few days." She replied. In a few days?! Oh come on! I sighed and lay down on my bed again. " A few days huh…"

" You need to rest." Rin said " Soon you'll be up and running again."

" But I need to go after Shiguri!" I said " I want to avenge my tribe… repay them for my mistake…"

" You're injured, it's best if you rest." Kohaku said.

" You don't understand. I couldn't save them! I was the only one who could help but I didn't! I was doing something for my own benefit and when I came back, all I saw was dead bodies! They can't go against something so powerful without me! I failed them!" I exclaimed.

" Kanade, calm down. You will never be able to fight this Shiguri with those injuries. He'll kill you in an instant. Rest for a few days, you'll be up and running in no time. Rin, Kohaku and I accompany you while you recover, not to mention the kids too. I know how you feel, I wanted to avenge my father when he died. I was able to thanks to Inuyasha's help." Shippo said. I looked at Shippo… so he's an orphan too. Poor Shippo.

" Fine…" I said. " I will."

" Really?! You will?!" Shippo exclaimed. He had a wide smile on his face… I swear I saw him blushing. It made me blush a little. " I said yes okay. I can't move around with such an injury anyway."

" Yay! Kanade-sama is staying!" the girls cheered.

" There he goes again, flirting with any cute girl he sees." Inuyasha said. Shippo got embarrassed and exclaimed " Hey! Watch your mouth!" Inuyasha stuck his tongue out at Shippo, which made him angrier. Rin and Kohaku looked at each other, then they laughed. I rolled my eyes. Not another one. I've met a few guys along the way who attempted to flirt with me. Just because I have a nymph's beauty. Urgh… I wanna go to sleep. I need to chase after Shiguri. Akemi… I'm sorry…

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><p>So how do you like Kanade? I wonder what's going to happen next… thanks for reading. :)<p> 


	2. Chapter 2: A New Journey

Ready for an adventure? Alright let's go!

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><p><span>Chapter 2: A new journey<span>

Kanade's P.O.V

After three days of trying to recover, I could get up and move around. Ha, I guess that's the benefit of being a half demon, you get to heal faster than usual. Too bad I didn't inherit my healing powers from my water nymph mother. If I did I could have healed myself a long time ago. Too bad. Rin has become good company for me. She's been taking care of me, we soon become good friends. The children also came quite often to see me. I eventually got comfortable with them and played with them.

The twin seven year old girls were named Chie and Chika, they are the children of Sango-the demon slayer- and Miroku- the monk- along with their brother Sora who was five years old. The four year old demon boy was named Takeo and he's Inuyasha's and Kagome's- the powerful priestess- son. I did meet Kagome, Miroku and Sango. Kagome is a nice girl, she always bring herbs for my injuries and I often talked to her. Miroku… um our meeting wasn't so good. Mainly because the first thing he did was grasp my hand and asked if I would bear his children. Sango hit Miroku with her Hiraikotsu because of that. He's nice overall, but I keep my distance from him. Sango's a nice girl too, she and Kagome have become my good friends. It was strange so many people were being so nice to me. Back in my tribe, they won't notice I exist at all…

Kohaku does visit sometimes, he's a nice boy. I asked him often about Shiguri but he himself was clueless. I found out that he was suppose to be dead, but a sacred jewel shard and Kikyo's power has kept him alive for a long time. Rin was raised from the dead twice, once by Inuyasha's brother Sesshomaru and another by Sesshomaru's mother. Lucky girl. She seems to happy. Kohaku and Rin were orphans too. Rin's parents and brother were killed by bandits and Kohaku killed his own father while under hypnotism. I can't imagine the guilt Kohaku has felt. We've become good friend.

Shippo was the most distant. I don't really know why. Once in while I caught Shippo looking at me from a hiding place near the door. I wonder why he doesn't want to come in. Is he shy? Once Shippo did try to enter in at night but I woke up and he ran away, disappearing in mid air. I wonder if that's a fox magic trick. I found a flower next to my bed the next morning.

" Hello Kanade, you're awake." Rin said, She gave me a warm soup to drink. I smiled and said " Thanks Rin." I took a long sip. Yum, it's delicious. I saw that Rin was wearing a new red flower in her hair. It looks beautiful

" Hey, where did you get that flower?" I asked her.

" Lord Sesshomaru gave to me along with his last gift! I've been wearing it since." Rin said.

" He seems to really care about you." I said.

" Yup! If he hadn't save me then, I would be dead. I will follow Lord Sesshomaru forever!" Rin said. I smiled, such devotion.

" Do you remember anything about your father?" Rin asked me.

" No… not really." I said. " All I know that his name is Goshirai and that he's a wolf demon outcast. Mama didn't tell me much about him."

" Do you have any other siblings?" Rin asked.

" I have a full blooded nymph sister named Akemi." I said " She's the only other family I had other than mama. She didn't judge me or scorn me like the other kids. She actually likes me. But she perished like the rest…"

" It's okay." Rin said, patting my back. I tried to hide my tears. Rin looked at the yellow flower beside me and picks it up. Then she said " I wonder who left this flower here?"

" Shippo did. I saw him sneak in last night." I said. Rin looked at the flower again and smiled. Then she said " Wow, Shippo must like you then."

" I don't think so…" I said, blushing slightly " Maybe he's being nice or something."

" Well I think so." Rin said. I sighed and got up, Rin then asked me " Wow, your better already?"

" I'm part demon remember? I heal faster than most nymphs. I can't believe I was sniffed out so easily." I said.

" Well we knew something was different from you from the beginning so you can't really hide it." Rin said as I took out my dress and start to unwrap the bandages.

" Yeah… but I thought it might be best to hide it. I mean I'm a half demon and a half nymph. That's strange isn't it. I don't fit anywhere. At least I look like a nymph so I can fool others." I said. " Now people know I'm a freak."

" You're not a freak, I like you." Rin said.

" Hey, is my back healed?" I asked her. Rin nodded. I put my dress back on and walked outside. Rin went out with me and asked " Are you leaving now?"

" Of course, I've been healed. So I should go and find Shiguri. I want to kill him and his servants like he killed my tribe." I said.

" Are you sure it's him?" Rin said.

" Who else would it be?" I said.

" Let me come with you." A voice interrupted us. We looked behind us. It was Kohaku, he was wearing a new outfit. It looked like a black jumpsuit with green paddings. He held a huge pickaxe in his hand. " Shiguri had been causing a lot of trouble and as a demon slayer I seek out for him to."

I thought about it for awhile then said " Well… since we both want to get rid of him, I guess it's no problem."

" Alright, I'll get Kirara." Kohaku said, then he ran off.

" Um… can I come along?" Rin asked. I looked at her and asked " Are you a demon slayer too?

" No, I just want to train. I think coming along with you will help." Rin said " If I can be good in battle, Lord Sesshomaru won't have to worry about me getting hurt."

" You sure? It's not going to be easy." I said.

" I'm sure." Rin said.

" Okay, we'll be leaving soon. Maybe we should say goodbye to everyone, I want to thank to Lady Kaede and Kagome for treating my injuries. Maybe get a few supplies." I said. Rin nodded and we walked off. We went back to the Lady Kaede's house and found Lady Kaede there. I told her of my departure with Rin and Kohaku.

" Are you sure Rin? It's going to be dangerous." Lady Kaede said.

" I've been training with Sango for awhile. I think I can fight." Rin said.

" What if Sesshomaru comes?" Lady Kaede asked.

" Um… tell him I went out, to collect herbs or something. I will be back soon." Rin said.

" It's okay Lady Kaede, I'll make sure she won't get into trouble." I assured Lady Kaede. Lady Kaede nodded. Then she went to her cupboard and took out something. It was a bow and a set of arrows in it's container. Lady Kaede passed these items to Rin, she said " You should take this. A sword is not enough for battle."

" Isn't this yours?" Rin asked. Lady Kaede nodded.

" But won't you need it?" Rin asked again.

" I want you to have it. Besides I can get a new set of bows and arrows." Lady Kaede said.

" Sounds like she passing down second hand stuff…" I whispered to myself. Then Shippo entered the house. He looked at me, then at Rin, then Lady Kaede, then the bow and arrows. Shippo looked at me and asked " Are you leaving already?"

" Yeah, Rin said she wants to come along. Kohaku's coming too. We're going after Shiguri. Kohaku's getting supplies and Kirara." I explained.

" So soon?" Shippo asked.

" Yeah, is Kagome here? I want to thank her for helping me." I said.

Shippo said " She's at her house but Kanade-"

" Thanks, oh and thanks for helping me Shippo." I said. I was about to go out of the house when Shippo stammered " U-um, I wanna come along." I stopped walking and sighed. Then I asked " Don't tell me you have a grudge against Shiguri or want training."

" Well, it's more of the training part. But I want to help you defeat Shiguri. Trust me, I know how it feels when everything is taken away from you. When I saw my father's carcass used as a belt for Manten… I felt like I was breaking apart. I still weep for my father. You must have lost someone dear to have such a determination. I will help you get revenge." Shippo said. I was silent. Then I said " We're leaving soon, get ready." Then I left Lady Kaede's house.

Soon, I had said my goodbyes and was getting ready to move. How in the world did I end up having three people travelling with me. When I had gathered all I need (which wasn't much, just a pouch filled with water and a dagger.), I went to find Kohaku. I saw Kohaku with a small bag over his shoulder talking to Rin. Shippo was playing with Kirara( who was in her small cat form). Shippo got up when he saw me.

" So where are we going?" Shippo asked me.

" I was heading west, I heard Shiguri lives in the mountains far west. I wanted to get more information from that rock demon but that failed." I said.

" Then we'll head west." Kohaku said. " We'll ask fellow villagers of any recent attacks. Maybe we will be able to find the servant and follow him or her to where Shiguri lives."

" Alright, Let's set off!" I said. Then we started travelling west of the village.

Shippo's P.O.V

Alright! We are off to the mountains in the west. I didn't expect to be travelling with Rin, Kirara, Kohaku and Kanade after some demon who seems to be strong. It reminds me of when Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku, Sango, Kirara and I travelled to defeat the evil Naraku! Ah… reminds me of old times. It was nice, but come to think of it, it was troublesome too. Inuyasha was bullying me all the time and I had to run away all the time. Well not this time! Inuyasha's not here and I can fight! It will be different this time.

I looked at Kanade, she looks so serious. She's jump and going so quickly, I can't believe she's part demon like Inuyasha. Other than Naraku and Jinenji, I never expected to find another half demon. Only she's not part human, she's part nymph. I got to admit she looks pretty.

" Ah… so you have created a little group." A voice interrupted my thought. I looked around. Kanade quickly drew out a water whip and Kohaku went into a defines position. Rin looked around in fear. Kirara transformed into her demon form.

" Come out." Kanade demanded.

" Oh, I was about to, do you see me as a coward?" the voice said again. I looked ahead. I saw a boy a few years older than me standing on a thick tree branch. He had red spiky hair and piercing, evil looking orange eyes. He also had a small gold ring pieced on his lower lip He wore an orange bandana around his head. He wore a red vest with bulky red pants. He was barefooted, but he had a dragon tattoo on his arm.

" It's you again." Kanade said. The boy smirked.

" Sorry I didn't get to introduce myself. I am Kasairyu, the fire demon." The boy said.

" What do you want?" Kohaku demanded.

" My master said to watch over you. You came from the nymph tribe. We meant to capture one of you at least but every single one of them perish… it seems we were wrong." Kasairyu.

" So you did kill my tribe! How could you!" Kanade yelled.

" Now now, don't get too angry. It wasn't directly me who did it. I know your wolf instinct tells you to kill me but can't we do it the easy way?" Kasairyu said, smirking. Kanade bared her teeth, how did this guy she's half demon?

" Where is Shiguri?" Kohaku demanded as he pointed his pickaxe at Kasairyu.

" Let's see… you got a demon slayer, a human girl with a sword, a racoon dog and a demon cat. Not bad." Kasai said as he pointed to each one of us. Hey!

" I'm not a racoon dog! I'm a fox demon!" I yelled as I stepped forward.

" Racoon dog, fox demon, same thing." Kasairyu said. This guy is starting to get on my nerves.

" No it's not!" I yelled.

" Shippo, it's not worth arguing with him." Kohaku said. " He's trying to pull in your string. Avoiding the question."

" Where is Shiguri?" Kanade demanded.

" You have to make me tell you." Kasairyu said. " But you will find out soon. I'm ordered to capture you."

" Over my dead body." I said. Kasairyu laughed.

" This will be fun." Kasairyu said and grinned. He quickly jumped off the tree and dashed towards Kasairyu. Kanade jumped out of the way and flicked her wrist " Water Whip!" Kasairyu ducked and attempted to attack if Kohaku didn't swing his pickaxe. Kasairyu jumped up high in the air. This is my chance!

I jumped up in the air and yelled " Fox Fire!" I shot a pillar of fox fire at Kasairyu. He smirked and held out his hand. I was shocked, he stopped my attack. Kasairyu held my fox fire in his hand as we landed. Then Kasairyu said " Are you stupid? I'm a fire demon. You should have at least seen that. I control fire. You're fire has no effect on me." Then he shot the pillar of fire towards me. I jumped to avoid it.

Kanade tried to grab Kasairyu's foot with her water whip but he jumped of avoid it. Kohaku threw his pickaxe but Kasairyu dodged that as well. " He's fast." Kohaku said.

" He's the same demon who attacked Koga's wolf tribe. He was after the Goraishi then." Kanade said.

" That wasn't my main reason to be there." Kasairyu said. " That was additional work for a bonus. My master loves anything that holds power. You were the reason I attacked."

" Me?" Kanade said.

" Didn't you realise it already? I've been following you ever since that day the water tribe was destroyed. We were looking for survivors." Kasairyu said. " No more playing, time to get serious." Then he took in a deep breath. He then blew out a huge pillar of fire from his mouth. We quickly dodged away. Kirara went through the pilar of fire and lunched herself to Kasairyu. Kasairyu made fire blades in his hands and cut Kirara's chest. Kirara roared in pain and fell to the ground.

Then Kasairyu ran towards Rin. Oh no! Rin! Rin quickly withdrew her sword and held it strong. Kasairyu stopped in front of her and said " Hm… you look weak. I can't see how you are strong enough to travel with the group."

" Hiya!" Rin yelled out as she tried to slash Kasairyu, Kasairyu moved away quickly and said " A swordswoman. Let's see you dance."

Rin tried to hit him with her sword but Kasairyu kept dodging her. Rin's moves were good, but he was way too fast. " We need top slow him down!" Kanade exclaimed. I know how to stop him.

" Weeping mushrooms!" I exclaimed as I threw my illusion mushrooms with crying faces on them. Kasairyu stopped and shield himself from the mushrooms using his arms " What the? Mushrooms?"

Rin took her chance and cut Kasairyu's stomach. Kasairyu stepped back. Kanade took the chance to hit him with the water whip. Kasairyu was caught. Kanade smirked. " Caught."

" Not so sure about that." Kasairyu said. Kasairyu suddenly started to glow red. Then the water whip vaporised into air. Kasairyu jumped up to the trees and said " I'll catch you later!"

" Hey! Come back!" I called out.

" Leave him Shippo. We can follow him, quick." Kohaku said. He got unto Kirara. Rin followed after him. I nodded and turned myself into a flying kite bird. Then I looked at Kanade and said " Get on." Kanade didn't hesitate, she got unto my back and we followed after him. We both flew into the air. I was flying faster than before, thanks to my training. But Kasairyu was flying fast too. He was flying in the air by shooting out fire pillars on his feet. We followed him for a certain distance when he turned around and shot pillars of fire at us.

" Watch out!" Rin yelled. I quickly turned into my original form and shouted " Fox Fire!" A pillar of fox fire shot towards the oncoming pillar of fire, they both clashed into each other. Phew, saved. But then, Kanade and I started to fall. Oops. Kanade held on tightly to me and yelled as we fell " You idiot! We're falling!"

Oh no! We were just about to hit the ground when I turned into a pink balloon and we bounced on the ground. Kanade bounced on me and fell unto the ground. " Ouch…" We both said at the same time. Kirara flew down towards us with Kohaku and Rin on her back.

" Are you okay?" Rin asked.

" Yeah… just fine…" Kanade said as she stood up.

" Where's Kasairyu?" I asked as I transformed back.

" We lost him after he shot that pillar of fire." Kohaku said he and Rin got off Kirara and Kirara turned back into her cute cat side.

" Damn, we almost got him." I said.

" He's bound to come after Kanade again. He's goal to to capture her and bring her to Shiguri." Kohaku said.

" Damn, I want to see Shiguri but not as a captive." Kanade said as she crossed her arms.

" I guess we go back to our original plan, starting from scratch." Rin said.

" Damn, he could be going to Shiguri right now." Kanade said. " A perfectly good chance."

" There's nothing much we can do about it. We can only move on. I wonder why he was after you anyway." I said.

" He must be after what my tribe held… but I don't have it. If they wanted it, they could have searched the place and got it, if not it would have been burnt." I said.

" They must think you have it. Are you sure they were hiding a treasure? It must have some value for Shiguri to chase after it." Rin said.

" No… they never mentioned about the treasure. I was the strongest in my tribe, if they wanted to protect it they would have brought me to a certain place than at the border." Kanade said.

" Maybe they aren't after an object, maybe they want something else." Kohaku said.

" But what?" Rin asked.

" I have no idea." Kanade said " Come on, we better move on. If Kasairyu really want to capture me, Shiguri must really want something from my tribe. And if that happens, I will kill him for such greed." Then she walked off. We looked at each other then followed after her.

* * *

><p>So how do you like Kasairyu? Yeah yeah, he's a bad guy and all so he's hardly a likeable character. But is sort of cool on they way he fights. You'll see more servants of Shiguri soon. :)<p> 


	3. Chapter 3: Hypnotised

Chapter 3: Hypnotised

Kanade's P.O.V

My travelling group… I don't know how to describe it. But I can think a million words of Shippo's personality. It didn't work out the first few days we travel together.

The day after we battled with Kasairyu, we were travelling the river. While walking, I could hear someone's stomach growl. We looked at the culprit. It was Rin. She blinked, then smiled and said " Shall we get some food?"

" I got some food here… wait, where's the food?" Kohaku said as he check his backpack.

" Did you forget to pack it?" I asked.

" No… but a bunch of other stuff is gone." Kohaku said.

" Maybe the hole in your bag explains it." Rin said, showing us a large whole at the bottom of his bag. Kohaku looked at the hole and said " Oh no, it must have torn while we were fighting with Kasairyu. The rest must have dropped along the way."

" Do you have anything left?" I asked.

" Only a few supplies, no food." Kohaku said.

" Great." I said " I guess we have to find some food."

" We can catch fish in the river." Rin said.

" Well I'm starving. I'll catch them!" Shippo exclaimed. Then he went to the river and jumped in. We watched him as Shippo tried to catch the fish with his bare hands, failing to catch any of course. Later Rin joined him and tried to catch them with her hands. No success ether.

" I- I almost got one!" Shippo said. A large fish jumped out of the water and Shippo tried to grab it. It slipped right out of his hands and to Kohaku's face. Kohaku jumped in shock as the fish fell unto the ground. Shippo then quickly said " Sorry Kohaku! I didn't mean it!"

" No, it's okay." Kohaku said. Just to think it could have hit me.

" Let me get the fish." I said.

" No, it's okay. I've got this!" Shippo said. I sighed… this is going to take forever. I jumped into the river anyway and waited, looking at the water. Soon, a fish came towards me. I lifted up my hands and moved them around. A water barrier surrounded the fish, the fish couldn't move anywhere. I slowly lifted up the ball-shaped water barrier above the water. The fish was wobbling inside. Ha! Got ya. I slowly moved it towards land.

Just as I was about to land it on the ground, someone bumped into me saying " I got, woah!" I lost my concentration and the water barrier burst, letting the fish dive into the water. I dove into the water too. We both got wet. I quickly got up, good thing I can breath underwater. I saw the fish I caught slip away. Urgh. Another figure rose from the water, his hair and clothes were soaking wet.

" Shippo! I almost had that fish!" I exclaimed.

" You? I was about to catch another if you weren't there!" Shippo exclaimed. What?! How dare he accuses me.

" You bumped into me! That was your own fault! Now my fish swam away!" I yelled at Shippo.

" How dare you accuse me!" Shippo yelled, pointing at me.

" But it was YOUR fault!" I exclaimed.

" Um… Shippo? Kanade?" Rin's voice disturbed us. We looked at her. She held her sword this time, and at the ends of her sword was three big fat fish. She smiled and said " I got the fish." I rolled my eyes at Shippo before following Rin back to land where Kohaku prepared a fire for our food.

I finished my roasted fish before anyone else and got up. I told them I was going to have a bath. I needed one anyway, for a very good reason. Water nymphs cannot survive on land without water on their skin. It's like breathing. We can stand it for three days but we would need water. I was no different. The longest I've lasted without water is a week. It has been five days since I got into the water, fishing was barely anything. I took off my clothes far from everyone and got into the water. Ah… that's good. My clothes were soaked with water in one shallow area. I need all the water I need if I was to be travelling.

I thought about Kasairyu. How did I not notice that he was following me all this time? I should have noticed his scent. That was the strangest thing… I couldn't smell it. How in the world did he hide it? I'm sure the scent of a fire demon is easy to catch. But when I was battling with Kasairyu, I really couldn't smell anything. What does Shiguri want with me? And why didn't Kasairyu didn't attack me earlier? Is it because I'm a water nymph and he's a fire demon? Maybe. But he's attack was different yet similar to the attack on my tribe. How many of these servants does Shiguri have, what do they owe him?

" Kanade! Kanade! Where are you?" A voice called out. I jumped in shock and blushed. Shoot! Who is that. I quickly hid underwater. " Come on, we're leaving!"

" I'll be there!" I said. Then I quickly went for my clothes. I just took my clothes when I heard the rustling of the bushes and said " Why did you have to take a- ah! Sorry!" I quickly turned around. I saw Shippo, turning around. What the heck?! I quickly changed into my clothes and went to Shippo.

" I'm sorry! I didn't know!" Shippo exclaimed, blushing. I was blushing too. I grabbed his head and pushed it to the ground. Shippo cried out in pain.

" Didn't I tell you I was bathing?! Pervert!" I exclaimed as I pushed his head on the ground again.

Sigh… that was just the start of our arguments. I know half of the time he wasn't doing it on purpose after awhile but why me? Why not Rin or Kohaku? Speaking of the two, they seem really close. Rin told me that she met Kohaku when she was kidnapped. He was under Naraku's control and attempted to kill Rin. But Kohaku managed to control himself and eventually followed Sesshomaru. So they are childhood friends.

Rin is pretty much a naive girl. She's nice and all and is like the glue of the group. She often plays with Kirara like Shippo does. Rin, when we are resting, collects flowers and often talks to me. She nearly talks about Lord Sesshomaru and his servant Jaken all the time. She has no problem hiding her own thoughts.

" It's nice to travel again. I wish Lord Sesshomaru and Jaken-sama were here. I often made songs about them. I thought of one for us! Do you want to hear it?" Rin asked.

" Sure, why not?"

Then she sang in a sweet tune:

_Here we are, travelling through Japan_

_Finding a demon to slay_

_I have a group of friends, all unique in their own way_

_Kirara our faithful demon companion _

_Kohaku the shy demon slayer_

_Shippo the mischievous fox demon_

_Kanade the funny half demon _

_and me! Rin the human girl!_

" Funny half demon?" I asked.

" Well, you are funny. Sometimes you have silly expressions! Remember when Shippo scared you with that toy snake?" Rin said. I got angry when I thought of that memory. Shippo thought I had taken his food so he decided to play a prank on me. He turned his toy snake into a big one. I had thought it was a real snake and cut it in half. Shippo freaked out when it turned back into a small toy and I head-dunk him again for that trick.

" Yeah… that…" I said, my eye twitching. Just to think a few days ago he was the same shy boy who left a flower beside my bed. That must have been just an impression. Ha! I'm not fooled.

" I still think he likes you though." Rin said. I sighed… oh Rin. You naive girl. It's obvious he doesn't. He's a jerk who likes to play tricks.

Kohaku is as he appears. A nice shy boy who is friendly. He's a lot older than me. He's strong is good at the pickaxe. The only flaw is that he's too shy. But it's fine by me. Kohaku is always concerned if Rin's okay. Rin would always nod and smile brightly. He really cares about her. That's nice. I wonder if Kohaku likes Rin? Rin also talks a lot about Kohaku. I can see where this is going.

But it's strange, while travelling we've never been disturbed by any demons or humans. It's like we were walking along a deserted road. I mean there are a few humans who do pass by but they never disturb us. Once a pretty woman passed by and Shippo stopped to flirt with her. I had to pull him by the ear so that he will follow us. The damn playboy.

Soon, we came upon a village. It seemed like a peaceful village, but I saw a few damaged houses. Something must have happened in this village. What's more, it's pretty deserted from the rest.

" Do you think something happened here?" Rin asked.

" Could be. We should ask the villagers." Kohaku said.

" Is this village related to Shiguri?" Shippo asked me.

" No, Shiguri's servants would normally destroy the village along their paths. Even if the village is spared the damage would have been greater." I explained.

" We should go down and check ether way. Maybe one of the villagers has seen Kasairyu or heard of unusual attacks." Shippo said. We walked down to the village. Kirara, who was previously in her demon form, turned into a small cat and jumped on Kohaku's shoulder. While we walked through the village, I noticed that the villagers were keeping their distance from us. They seem to be staring at… Shippo. Sometimes they glared at him. Shippo noticed this too. Sometimes they glare at Kirara, or me!

" They don't seem to like you." Rin whispered to Shippo.

" Or any demons…" Shippo added.

" Excuse me sir," Kohaku said as he approached a man carrying two baskets on a stick filled with hay " What has happened to the houses."

" Those demons destroyed the roofs of our houses! We have to repair them nearly all the time. We can't find a way to get rid of them. They keep coming no matter what." The man told him.

" We'll help you get rid of these demons." Kohaku said.

" It's impossible. Many priests, priestess, monks and even demon slayers couldn't get rid of them. Even if they do succeed, more demons come to replace them. It was as if they came from an unknown source." The man said. The he saw us coming towards him. The man freaked out and pointed at Shippo, then Kirara. He yelled " You travel with demons?!"

" Don't worry, they won't harm you." Kohaku assured the man.

" Yup! I'm harmless." Shippo said.

" Yeah… completely harmless." I said and rolled my eyes.

" What's that suppose to mean?" Shippo said as he narrowed his eyes at me.

" Get out demons!" The man yelled.

" Did someone say demons?" A woman passing by said.

" Where are they?" Another man growled.

" It's the boy and the cat! They're the demons!" The man with the supplies said. Uh oh.

" Shippo! Run!" Rin quickly whispered to him. Shippo looked around quickly, I did too. The men were gathering weapons. Shippo called " Kirara, run!" Then Shippo ran off the the direction we came from. Kirara jumped off Kohaku and ran after Shippo.

" Hey! Is that girl a demon?" A middle age woman asked, pointing at me.

" I'm a nymph! A nymph!" I said quickly. I didn't want to end up running away from angry villagers like Shippo.

" Demon slayer, can you really get rid of the demons?" the man with the supplies asked Kohaku.

" We can try." Kohaku said.

" Thank you. You may stay over at the village head's house. Please follow me." The man said. I looked around, I wonder where Shippo and Kirara went? I couldn't go looking for them. I followed Rin, Kohaku and the man with the supplies to a large house. It was twice as big as the houses around the area, but yet it wasn't a mansion ether. The man knocked on the door and said " Daisuke-sama! Demon slayers have come to aid us."

The door opened. A man came out. He looked like any common villager. He had a tiny ponytail to hold up his black hair, a green shirt and plain pants. He was also had a walking stick in his hand. " More of them? Come in."

We entered the house. I realised this house was more damaged then the rest. I saw board everywhere and the foundation was strong. There was one part of the ground where is was severely damaged. I wonder why? Rin then said " Thank you for letting us stay here."

" I'm sorry if the house isn't strong, it's the best we can offer." Daisuke, who seems to be the village head, said.

" It's okay, this is fine." Kohaku said as he sat down. Rin and I put our things down and sat down too. " What has been happening?"

" It has been going on since this village started. we were peaceful the first few days but soon demons started to attack this village. They always destroy houses and sometimes kill the people in them. Every night they come here, we tried to fight them but more keep coming. Many others have come and attempted to help us but even after we thought they were destroyed the come back." Daisuke said " It's been troubling us. My father was unable to stop it. He died because one of the demons killed him when this house was attacked. If it wasn't the monk who came to help us, I'm sure I would have been dead too."

" We'll stay up late and see these demons ourselves." I said. " Don't worry sir. But to ask, have you seem a boy with red hair flying around or any rumours of strange attacks?"

" No, we haven't seen such a boy. Nor have we heard much from the other villages. We live further away from the other villages and no villager would dare enter a village which is attack by demons every night." Daisuke said.

" I see." I said. I was disappointed. I was hoping we would get at least some information.

" Um… may I ask a request?" Rin asked.

" What is it?" Daisuke said.

" We have two other companions who were chased out of the village by the villagers. They are both demons but they won't hurt anyone. Is it okay for them to enter the village?" Rin said.

Daisuke was quiet for awhile then said " I do not mind the demons in my house if they are as you say, but I'm afraid it will scare the villagers and lose their trust in me. They may come at night to assist you but I'm afraid they cannot come during the day." Daisuke said.

" I see… I was hoping they will be able to come here. It's not fair we're in here and they are out there." Rin said.

" Just stay here Rin. We are given a roof over our heads so let's not refuse their hospitality. If it makes you feel better I will check on them." I said. Then I stood up and said " I'm going to find Shippo and Kirara, wait here." Then I left the house.

Shippo's P.O.V

I can't believe they chased Kirara and I out of the village! Just because we are demons… I wish we never came here. We were just outside the village on a hill, staring at the village. I wonder where Rin, Kohaku and Kanade are? They are probably staying inside a nice house being feed well. Stupid… at least I have Kirara with me. Kanade must be laughing behind my back now.

I looked at the sky, it was growing dark. I said to Kirara " It's getting dark. Looks like we're staying out here Kirara." Kirara meowed.

" That stinks! Why can't we enter the village! We've done nothing wrong. And how about our friend? Where are they?" I said. " They could have at least visit us…"

Kirara looked at the village and got up. Then she meowed. I looked back at the village. I saw Kanade walking towards us. I looked away. What is she going to do? Tease me? I thought she was a nice girl, but she turns out to be a hot tempered girl who won't give a second thought of hitting me. And I thought I was free from Inuyasha's bullying. How can a cute girl be so mean? No, Kanade's not cute at all.

" Hey Shippo, hey Kirara. Sorry about that. We spoke with the village head and he said you can sneak in at night." Kanade said. I refused to look at her in the eye. Kanade sighed and then said " It's not my fault that the villagers chased you, here."

I looked at her, she opened something in her arms. Kirara meowed in Delight. Kanade smiled and took the big fish from the bundle of food she had. She threw it at Kirara and Kirara caught it with her mouth and ate the fish. She also had more fish, fruits and some steamed rice balls in her hands. " Take some."

I didn't hesitate. I quickly took a rice ball and some fish. I gobbled them down. Man, I'm so hungry. Kanade then scolded me " Hey, leave some for me okay?"

" Didn't you already eat?" I asked her as she sat beside me on the grass.

" No. I thought you and Kirara might be lonely and hungry so I brought some food for the three of us." Kanade said as she took as rice ball and bit into it.

" The three of us?" I asked her again.

" I'm staying out here with you guys. I know, you probably think it's unfair you're out here and we're inside. So I'm here to accompany you." Kanade said. Then she took a fruit and took a bite out of it, I took one too. I looked at Kanade for awhile. She's weird. One thing she's all mean and hot-tempered the next she's acting so nice. I don't understand her at all.

" Thank you Kanade." I said.

" No problem." She replied, not bothering to look at me. We ate in silence. When we finished eating, it was clearly nighttime. Kirara had went to sleep in Kanade's lap. Kanade stocked her fur.

" Hey Shippo… are you really so determined in helping me?" Kanade asked me.

" Of course." I told her. " I know how you fell about all this. I wanted to avenge my father when he was killed. So I will help you avenge your tribe."

" But you don't really know how it feels." Kanade said. She had stopped stroking Kirara. " The entire tribe depended on me, ME, to protect the tribe. I was the strongest, we nymphs have no fighting powers. If I hadn't left my tribe that day… I wouldn't be here. You came to find out AFTER your father is dead. I had to WITNESS the death of my tribe knowing it's my fault." I could see her tears. She's really serious. " I can only repay them by going after Shiguri, otherwise I can't forgive myself."

I was quiet. Her tears kept pouring out, she tried to wipe them away but more keep coming. I tried to put an arm around her to make her feel better but she slapped it away and cried even more. I put my hand down. Is she really thinking of facing this herself? " You, Rin and Kohaku are just here to help me, but you have no idea how Shiguri has hurt me. He took everything away from me. Like wasn't lonely enough. Being a half demon is hard enough, but he had to take Akemi and Mama away from me."

" Kanade." I said. Kanade glared at me and exclaimed " What?! Don't say you understand! Cause you don't!"

" I wasn't going to say that." I said. I was silent for awhile. What should I say?

" Then?" Kanade said.

" I was going to say I can't imagine that pain. I only know part of it." I told her. " But I know how it feels to lose everything you know. My mother died giving birth to me. I only had my father, I didn't socialise much with the other fox demons. So when I saw Hiten and Manten took the sacred jewel shard from my father and used his fur as a belt… I felt like everything was taken away from me. And would have done anything to get revenge. That's how I met Inuyasha and Kagome, they helped me avenge my father. I had no where else to go so I followed them. They are like family to me. So when I saw your determination to defeat Shiguri, I thought of how I was so determined to defeat Hiten and Manten. I want to help you like how Inuyasha helped me. I don't want anyone else to bear such pain."

Kanade was quiet. Then she murmured " Thanks…"

" Shippo! Kanade!" We heard a voice call for us.

" Shippo! Kirara! Kanade!" Another voice called out. Kirara woke up and jumped off Kanade. We both stood up and saw Rin and Kohaku coming towards us.

" The demons are coming." Kohaku told us.

" Demons?" I asked.

" Oh! I forgot to tell you. We are suppose to get rid of the demons attacking the village." Kanade told me.

" You could have told me that first before you complained on how unfair your life is like." I said. Kanade glared at me. Then she grabbed my head and pushed it to the ground shouting " Head dunk!" Ouch… that hurts… When I got up, I saw Kanade walking away. What did I say? She's back to her hot-tempered self.

" Did… we miss something?" Rin asked.

" Nothing…" I said as I followed after Kanade.

Kanade's P.O.V

The jerk! I confined my feelings with him, I brought him food, accompanied him and he still dares to offend me! Humph! I thought he was okay and then this happens. I hate this. That really hurt. I looked at the night sky. I wonder if he was serious then?

_I don't want anyone else to bear such pain._

He doesn't even know half of it. I should have never let him come along…

A roar interrupted my thoughts. I looked up. Oh shit. I saw a large group of snake-like demons flying through the air. Daisuke wasn't kidding when he was talking about the demons. I drew a long stretch of water from the drench nearby and jumped towards the sky.

" Water whip!" I shouted as I hit the demons. My water whip sliced the stretch of demons into half, but it wasn't enough. More keep coming. I landed on a roof and continued to slice the oncoming demons. Every time I slashed some, more seem to replace them from the direction they came from. Why won't they stop?

" Kanade!" Kohaku called out for me. I looked at him. He was slashing the demons away with the pickaxe. I could see the villagers run away in a certain direction. The demons kept attacking the houses. That's weird, aren't the demons after the humans?

" What's up?" I asked as I slashed the demons.

" Rin is guiding the villagers away and Shippo's holding off the demons coming at the other side of the village. They don't seem to be after the villagers, they are after something else. I'll hold the demons off, you go and find it." Kohaku said as he slashed away the demons.

" Alright." I said. Then I jumped off the roof and ran towards the directions the demons are after. I could see that the demons were after something, but what? Then I thought of something. I yelled " Kohaku! Let one through!"

Kohaku protest " But-"

" Do it!" I yelled. Kohaku let a snake-like demon with a human's head slip through him. The demon passed over me and I started to follow it. When I came to the village, I realised the place that was destroyed was only in a certain area, as if they were heading for something. Daisuke's was the most damaged, that could mean what they were searching for is in Daisuke's home!

As I had predicted, the demon flew all the way to Daisuke's home. The demon hit through the roof, breaking it to many pieces. I followed after it. it seems to be digging through the floor of the house, the same part where it was the most damaged.

" Water whip!" I yelled as I sliced the demon into half. The demon roared as it was destroyed. I landed on the ground and made my water whip turn into a ball of water. I shot the water ball the the weak spot on the ground and the ball hit through the wood, splashing unto the ground. Splinters of wood splattered all over the place. I quickly squat down and removed the remaining piece of large wooden planks. I reach out and took something out of the soil.

It was a pendant. It was of a swirling blue shaped metal and beads hung from it. What is this? An ornament? Why would demons come for an ornament. I knew I had to bring this away from the village. I ran out of the door and started to run. I didn't know where to get rid of it but I had to. But… should I get rid of it? It must be of some value to the demons. That's as easy as letting them have it. They must have a purpose for attacking the village. I looked at the sky… the demons were gone. What?

" Kanade!" I heard a voice call me. I looked behind me, it was Rin. She went to me and said " The demons are gone. What's that?"

" I found it under Daisuke's house. This is what's luring the demons." I said as I held it up for her to see. Then I felt like someone was watching me. I looked at the roof of a house. I saw Shippo… attacking Kohaku. Kirara was also attacking Kohaku from the other side, Kohaku could only dodge their attacks.

" Shippo! Wake up! It's me! Kohaku!" Kohaku said as he tried to dodge his fox fire attacks. Shippo ignored his words and continued attacking him.

" Shippo!" Rin called out. Shippo stopped attacking and looked at Rin… then at me. Shippo stood up tall, I noticed his eyes are of an unnatural red. Suddenly, I felt a suddenly pain in my head.

" Argh…" I cried out in pain.

" Kanade." Rin said as she came to my aid. I felt the ornament pulsing in my hand.

" Rin, destroy the ornament." I said. " Ah…"

I passed Rin the ornament as I got unto the ground. Rin held the ornament tightly. She then called out " Kanade!"

" Run…" I murmured, before that stinging pain hit my head again. Argh!

Rin's P.O.V

I saw Kanade crumble unto the ground. She was groaning in pain on her knees, her hands grasping her hair as she yelled in pain. What can I do? Something weird is going on. I looked at the roof. Kohaku was busy trying to dodge Kirara and Shippo's attacks. Something seemed to control them. Then I called out " Kohaku!"

" I'm fine, don't worry." Kohaku replied. Suddenly, Kirara used her body to push Kohaku off the roof. Kohaku fell unto the ground with a hard thump.

" Kohaku!" I exclaimed as I went to him. Kohaku slowly got up and said " I'm fine… what happened to Kanade?" Kohaku said as he looked at Kanade. She seemed even worse by the minute.

" I don't know, she was fine a moment ago. She told me to get rid of this." I said as I showed Kohaku the strange ornament Kanade gave me.

" Return it to me." A voice boomed from above. We looked up. It was an old woman. She was standing on one of the demons. She wore a purple scarf on her head and wore a matching purple long dress. She had a blue shawl over her shoulders. She had a red dot on her head and a crystal ball within her hands.

" Who are you?" I asked, Kohaku got up quickly.

" I am the hyponist demon, Arane. I hypnotise demons to do my bidding. That ornament you hold little girl is a pendant I lost years ago. A man stole it from me and I never saw him again, or at least that's what I thought until I heard of this village. I always send demons to retrieve it for me, I didn't know it would take this long. But it is oh so dear to me. Because it lets me hypnotise only only demons but many other creatures as well." The old woman said. Then she looked at Kanade. " It's strange, I only summon demons for my mind control spell. Is she's a half demon?"

" L-let me go…" Kanade managed to stammer.

" My my, she can speak." Arane said. Then she looked at me and said " Give it to me." I held the pendant to my chest and shook my head. If she could control many people with this, including us, I won't hand it over. Arane narrowed her eyes at me.

" Looks like I will have to use force." Arane said, then she snapped her fingers. Shippo and Kirara went by her side on the ground, their eyes glowing red. Arane pointed her finger at Kanade, then to me. Shippo had made no hesitation to come after me. Kirara lunged for Kanade. " Let's see how you will protect all of your friends demon hunter!"

Kohaku gritted his teeth. I started to run away, I yelled to Kohaku " Save Kanade!" Kohaku nodded and went towards Kanade. I sran as fast as I could, away from Shippo. As I ran, Shippo followed. He was fast. I didn't want to use my sword or arrows( which I hardly trained in using) against Shippo. There must be a way to stop him.

_destroy the ornament…_

The ornament! Of course! Maybe if I destroy the pendant, Arane won't go after me anymore and Shippo as well as Kirara will go back to normal! I made a swift turn into a house. Shippo passed me. Phew… safe. I quickly threw the pendant unto the ground and withdrew my sword. Then I slashed at the ornament… or at least that's what I hoped. My sword suddenly stopped, sparks came from my sword and a purple like orb surrounded the pendant. It has a barrier! No… maybe Arane is protecting it. How am I suppose to break the barrier?

The door suddenly burst open and I screamed. I quickly looked at the door with fear… Shippo.

" Shippo, wake up. Please wake up. It's me, Rin. I'm your friend. Wake up. I don't want to hurt you." I spoke as I took a few steps back. Shippo walked forward, his eyes screamed of murder. No… please no… help…

Kohaku's P.O.V

Kirara continuously tried to hit me with her paws, I dodged or blocked it each time. I had to make sure Kirara doesn't hurt Kanade, at least until she gets up. Kanade is also under Arane's spell, but she's fighting it. I didn't bother to attack, how can I ever hurt Kirara. I hope Rin is safe…

" Ha ha, fight. Fight. Fight your own dear pet. Fight for your life." Arane cackled with pleasure. Kanade was slowly getting up, only to fall back down again. Come on Kanade… get up. Kirara and Kanade are being controlled by something. How do I it? Kirara jumped back, getting ready for her next attack. I quickly looked around, weaknesses. Where are her weaknesses? I looked at the crystal ball in her hands. That's it! She must be using that to control Kirara!

Kirara pounced, I quickly dodged it. I stumbled a bit but regained my balance. I threw my pickaxe at the crystal ball. Come on… hit it. The pickaxe hit the crystal ball, breaking it into many pieces. Arane gasped as the crystal ball shattered in her hands. Kirara's eyes turned back to her original colour. Kirara sat down and tiled her head in confusion before turning back into her cat form. Kanade slowly got up and said " Thank god that was over."

" You shattered my crystal ball! How dare you!" Arane said.

" You better think carefully when exposing such a valuable item like that. Kanade said. Then she drew water from her water pouch. It gather between her fingers and she jumped. She then yelled " Water slash!" The water in her hands gathered into a blade, one of each finger, and slashed Arane into many pieces. Arane screamed in pain as she disappeared into the wind. Kanade… looked like a wolf demon then.

Rin's P.O.V

Shippo suddenly stopped in his tracks. He looked around, confused. Then he looked at me and said " Rin? What happened." I sighed. He's back to normal. Did my voice reach to him? I got up and said " You were hypnotised by a demon. Come on, we have to go back to Kohaku and Kanade! Kirara's also being controlled and is attack the both of them! Kanade's sort of hurt so we must help!" I quickly ran out of the house, Shippo followed after me.

We ran all the way to where I last left Kohaku, Kanade and Kirara. I saw Kanade, standing tall, Kirara and Kohaku. Kirara was now in her cat form. Kirara ran towards us and jumped on me. I smiled as she cuddles me. Looks like Kirara is also released from the hypnotism. Kanade looks better than ever. Kirara then bounced unto Shippo and cuddles with him. Kohaku came to me and said " Are you alright?"

I nodded and said " Yup, One moment Shippo was going to attack me and the next thing I knew, he was completely confused. What happened to Arane?"

" I killed her." Kanade said as she walked towards us. " Did you destroy the ornament?"

" No… I still have it. It has a barrier around it." I said as I took out the ornament.

" Try again." Kanade said " If it was so important to Arane, who knows what other demons might come after it to try and use it." I nodded. I threw the pendant on the ground and took out my sword. Then I used my sword to cut it. The sword didn't stop midway this time, it cut the ornament into many pieces. Blue ashes flew out of it and disappeared.

" Arane must have put a barrier around it to prevent it from being destroyed." Kohaku said.

" Well, I'm glad that's over." Shippo said. " Sorry for attacking you guys."

" No problem. I'm just glad my migraine is over." Kanade said. The next morning, we brought the villagers back into the village. Daisuke was glad we finally got rid of the demons once and for all, despite the fact we destroyed his house. Poor Daisuke, at least he won't be bothered by demons anymore. We said our goodbyes before we left the village.

" Well, that was sort of a waste of time." Kanade said as we left the village.

" Hey, we helped some people! You should be happy about that!" Shippo said.

" I know that, but we are no where closer to finding Shiguri or Kasairyu." Kanade said.

" We will check in the next town, I'm sure they would have heard of related attacks or seen Kasairyu." Kohaku said.

" Hey, do you think Arane is one of the servants?" I asked.

" I don't think so. Arane would have taken Kanade with her if she worked for Shiguri. She was focused on getting that pendant back." Kohaku said.

" I wonder how many servants are there?" Shippo said.

" Who knows. There might be two, ten. twenty? We just have to be prepared for it. Hopefully we can get to Shiguri before we meet anymore of them." Kanade said as she walked ahead of us.

" She's so determined." Kohaku said.

" Yeah, I wish I was as strong as her." I added.

Shippo was quiet. Then he said to himself softly- but I can still hear- " I hope you won't have to suffer the pain anymore after this Kanade." Pain? Pain of losing her tribe? Lord Sesshomaru told me he hated Lord Inuyasha. Inuyasha also told me he was neglected by the humans and demons. So… is Kanade the same? If so isn't she sort of relieved the tribe is gone? Or is it something else that made Kanade so angry? I don't know. I don't think I should ask ether. Maybe she did care for her tribe. I'm not her. I hope she will be happy ether way. She has me, Shippo, Kohaku and Kirara now. I wish she will stop worrying.

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><p>I hope you like this chapter, especially on Rin and Kohaku's P.O.V. Sorry for the long wait. See ya!<p> 


	4. Chapter 4: The Second Servant

Hello everyone! Sorry for the late post, I hope you like this chapter. BTW, I got Kanade's name from angel beats, it means ' melody' or 'playing a song'. How do you like it? Well, time to see the second servant of Shiguri!

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><p><span>Chapter 4: The second servant<span>

Kanade's P.O.V

" Have you seen a boy with red hair?" I asked an old man. We had been split into two groups to ask the fellow villagers about Kasairyu or strange attacks. Kohaku, Rin and Kirara went in one group, that means I'm stuck with Shippo. Sigh… why me? So far, we have heard many villagers talking about many destroyed houses down north. Some were burnt and some were a complete wreak. The burnt ones tells me Kasairyu was there. I'm not sure if these are recent.

" No, I haven't. Why? Did your boyfriend run away?" the old man asked.

" No… that's not it…" I said, my right eye was twitching. Shippo laughed out loud. So loud that he fell unto the floor and everyone stared at him. I'm getting more fed up by this guy by the second.

" Well I hope you find him. Good day." The old man said then he walked off. Shippo still haven't stopped laughing after he was long gone. I kicked him and shouted " Will you stop laughing? You're attracting too much attention!"

Shippo still laughed out loud. Soon he got up, chuckling here and there. " Sorry Kanade, that's just too funny. It sounds like you are some obsessive lover."

" Shut up." I said as I stuck my tongue at him " Like you're the one to talk. You nearly flirt with every pretty woman you see."

" I-I don't!" Shippo said, blushing.

" You stink at talking to girls." I said as we walked around.

" I'm talking to you right?" Shippo said.

" That doesn't count." I said. " You stink at talking to me anyway."

" I do?" Shippo said. I went to a woman with children and asked her " Hello mam, have you heard of any recent attacks on villages?"

" Yes I have. I just heard from my neighbour yesterday that he saw a village destroyed right in front of his eyes. He said the trees grew from the ground suddenly and quickly, they are huge ones too. The houses and battles were impales and destroyed. Then there were vines that grew along the trees, impaling everyone in the village. Then the trees and vines disappeared into the air into small green dust and everything fell unto the ground into one big pile. My neighbour didn't stay to know what happened next." The woman said. The child looked at me with curiosity.

" Really? Where is it?" I asked her.

" North of this village, there has been many recent attacks then." the woman said.

" Thank you, one more thing. Have you seen a boy with red hair?" I asked her.

" Isn't that the boy?" The woman said as she pointed to Shippo. His hair is sort of brownish-red. I can see how she can mistaken Shippo as Kasairyu since I never described him.

" No, someone else." I said.

" I'm sorry then. But is he your boyfriend? You're lucky girl, he's a looker." The woman said. I blushed and said " No, he's not."

" Too bad. Goodbye. I hope I've been useful." the woman said before walking away. I blushed even more. A looker? You have got to be kidding me. I looked at Shippo, he was talking to the man about something. I got to admit, he was kind of handsome in a way. I didn't realise that I was staring at him until Shippo noticed me. I quickly looked away. Shit! What was I doing, I realised I was blushing even more. What are you doing? This is Shippo, the same guy who are annoyed with.

" Hey Kanade, you found anything?" Shippo said as he walked towards me. I jumped in shock and looked at Shippo. Damn the woman for giving me such stupid thought. He ain't handsome at all.

" Yeah, there is a recent attack in a village in the north. Most of the attacks seems to be there." I said. " She mentioned the village was attacked by plants."

" Plants?" Shippo asked.

" Yeah." I said. " How about you?"

" The man said late at night he saw a fire ball heading towards north, I think that must be Kasairyu. We should find the others and tell them about this." Shippo said. I nodded and we went to find the others.

Unknown P.O.V

Kasairyu walked towards the centre of a forest. He looked around. Then he called out " Tsurukina." No response. " Tsurukina."

The branches from a nearby tree moved apart. Slowly, the branches revealed a girl who looks two years older than Kasairyu. Her green hair was tied up in a messy bun and her brown eyes looked at Kasairyu lazily. She wore a loose brown kimono which was too short for her. Her skin is pale and vines grew along her limbs. She then said " What?"

" We've got a mission. Shiguri said both of us need to finish the job." Kasairyu said.

" Wow, since when did you become his favourite?" Tsurukina- the girl- said.

" I'm simply doing my job. He has no favourites remember? But once we get him, he will have a favourite, probably." Kasiaryu said.

" Him? He'll be a newbie." Tsurukina said.

" Killing his leader and gaining extraordinary powers for a demon doesn't sound like a newbie." Kasiaryu said.

" You know we're only recruiting him because of relation to Kanade." Tsurukina said.

" Who cares, what's interesting is that you have the honour of helping me capture the half demon." Kasairyu said.

" Why? Is she too much for you to handle?" Tsurukina said.

" She made alliances. Two demons and two humans." Kasairyu said " Most of them are strong."

" I see, so she's no longer alone. How about the rest?" Tsurukina said.

" Still on the search. But I already know where he's headed." Kasiaryu said. Tsurukina stood up and said " Oh, so you knew all this while."

" Common sense Tsurukina. Where else will he go in the north? Anyway, we better find them now. Before they find out what we're up to." Kasairyu said. Tsurukina walked forward to Kasairyu and put a hand on his shoulder. She smiled and said " Whatever… I'm just glad I get to fight for real."

Kanade's P.O.V

We met up with Kohaku, Rin and Kirara and decided to go north. It's ether my prediction of Shiguri in the west is wrong or the servants are planning to obtain something there. Ether way, we found a lead. We were just leaving the village when Kirara suddenly stopped and sniffed the air.

" Kirara? What's wrong?" Kohaku asked Kirara.

Kirara suddenly started to growl, a huge amount of fire engulfed her and her demon form came out. Something's wrong.

" I hoped you miss me." A voice said. We quickly looked up. There he was, standing on the branch… Kasairyu. I quickly drew out my water whip, Kohaku took out his pickaxe and Rin took out her katana. Shippo prepared his fox fire and Kirara growled at Kasairyu.

" Kasairyu." I said.

" Woah, don't need to attack me. I'm not the one you should worry about." Kasairyu said.

" Aaah!" I heard Rin shout from behind me. I looked behind me.

" Rin!" Kohaku called out. Rin was now entangled in a bunch of thicks vines wrapping around her, high in the air. Where did those plants come from, it's like they just grew up from the ground. Then Kohaku was wrapped up in those vines, followed by Kirara. Shippo and I jumped out of the way just in time. Phew.

" So this is our infamous Kanade." Another voice said. We looked ahead of us. The girl, who looks around Kohaku's age, stepped forward. She had long green hair tied in a messy bun and piercing, tired brown eyes. Her pale limbs covered with thin vines seems lazy as she walked forward. Her relaxed smile was unsettling. She wore a brown kimono which was only down to her thighs. Her arms were held high in the air. I sniffed the air… what? She doesn't have a scent. She's like Kasiaryu. How in the world does she hide her scent?

" Another one?" Shippo said.

" I'm not called 'another one', it's Tsurukina." The girl said " So you're the racoon dog?"

" I'm a fox demon! A fox demon!" Shippo exclaimed, feeling offended. I couldn't help but laugh under my breath. Then Tsurukina looked at our entangled friends " The cat demon and two mere human… they will be so easy to crush." Tsurukina tighten her hands into fists, the vines tighten around Rin, Kohaku and Kirara. All three yell out in pain.

" Don't hurt them!" I exclaimed as I ran towards Tsurukina. I swung my whip towards her " Water whip!"

Tsuskina jumped out of the way. Then she said " Finally! A battle worth fighting for! Flower thorns!" Tsurukina thrust out her hand at me and thorns came out of it. I quickly jumped out of the way. Tsurukina kept shooting them at me. Darn… where did the stupid fox demon go?

" Kanade! Watch out!" Shippo called out. I quickly turned around just in time to see a pillar of fire come my way. I jumped out of the way… only to have my feet burnt.

" Ah!" I said softly in pain as I landed on the ground.

" We should be done in no time!" Tsurukina exclaimed as she raised her hands. Vines surrounded me and grew taller. No way am I going to let her take me. I may have been injured, but that doesn't mean I can't fight.

" Water slash!" I exclaimed as I threw my water whip, it flew off my hand, turning into blades as cut through the vines, some of them managed to hit Tsurukina. Tsurukina gritted her teeth as she shield herself with her arms. I stood up, my feet hurt because of the burns but I stood tall. I saw Shippo fighting with Kasairyu. He was using his toys and fox fire to attack Kasairyu. So he's been busy huh?

" Damn you. It's such a bothersome. I wonder why Shiguri can't just let us kill you.' Tsurukina said before she jumped and tried to attack me with the same moves. Ha, I'm not fooled to fall for the same trick again.

I ran forward and jumped, I couldn't jump as high as I wanted because of my hurt feet but just high enough for me. " Water whip!" I exclaimed as I drew up a new whip and aimed for her feet. Tsurukina was smart, she moved out of the way before I could catch her. We both landed on the ground, pain stung through the lower part of my body. Damn you Kasairyu.

Kohaku's P.O.V

I tried to move my arm. The vines just seem to tighten around me every time I move, they were slowly crushing me. Come on… move… I just need my pickaxe to cut through… I saw Kirara was struggling too. She tried to cut herself free with her jaws but she wasn't even near to biting a leaf. Rin was struggling too, I saw her katana fall unto the ground. I better hurry, before we get crushed.

I looked at the battle scene before me. Kanade was struggling to fight a girl with long green hair and Shippo was fighting with Kasairyu. They can't help us, they were busy. Both of them were injured as well. They are pretty good.

" K-Kohaku…" Rin said. I looked at her and said " It's okay, we'll figure a way out of this."

I looked around, we need help. But how? Kasairyu and Tsurukina would just distract them. Then I yelled out to Shippo " Shippo! Use your top!"

" My top?" Shippo said before be enveloped himself in a blue flame while Kasairyu shot a pillar of fire at Shippo.

" Throw it at us, now!" I yelled. Shippo didn't question me. He spun his blue and green top towards our direction. The top grew into a huge size and hit the vines that entangled me. The vines toppled down forwards. I hit the ground, ouch… at least I got down. I could feel the vines loosen around me. I used my pickaxe to cut the vines around me. I got out of the tangled mess and went to Rin. She was struggling.

" Wait a little while longer. I'm going to get you out." I said to Rin. Then I started to chop down the vines. But every time I cut a vine, it grew back nearly as quickly as I chop them off. Darn. Kirara was now bitting at the vines, but they grew as fast as she bit them off. How will I solve this…

" Move!" Shippo yelled. I looked behind me. There were two fire swords in his arms. One of them aimed towards me. I moved out of the way, the blade stuck the vines, burning away the vines, they didn't grow back then.

" Shippo, free them!" I called out as I ducked Kasairyu's attacks. Shippo ran toward's Rin's vines and started burning them with his fox fire.

" I'll finish with a mere human in an instant." Kasairyu said. I did't bother to answer back. I swung my pickaxe and he blocked it with his swords. It would have much easier if Kanade was fighting him. Is that why he let Tsurukina handle Kanade? It's because he knows Kanade, being a part water nymph, would be hard to defeat? We battled for some time, I need to find a way to counter his move. Kasairyu then jumped and shot a pillar of fire at me, I rolled out of the way and shot my metal chain at Kasairyu's foot. Then end of the chain wrapped around Kasairyu's foot and I pull on the chain hard. Kasairyu fell unto the ground.

I went towards Kasiaryu, he was quickly trying to get rid of the metal chain wrapped around his foot. He managed to break free and I swung my pickaxe at him. He jumped to dodge it. Shippo jumped to my side and said " Rin and Kirara are helping Kanade, how are you?"

" Just fine." I said.

" Retreat." Kasairyu said.

" Aw~ but the battle was getting exciting." Tsurukina said as she shot flower thorns at Kirara. Rin attempted to slash Tsurukina, only able to scratch her arm.

" Now, we'll look for a more favourable time." Kasiaryu said. Then he shot pillar of fire under his feet and he flew towards the sky. Tsurukina jumped out of the way and vines grew from her feet. Like stilts, she walked towards the direction where Kasairyu was heading: North.

" You cowards! Come back and fight!" Shippo demanded.

" This is our chance! Let's go!" Kanade said. I quickly went unto Kirara, Rin followed after me. Shippo transformed into a flying kite bird and Kanade got unto Shippo. We started to fly into the direction of our enemies… only to find them gone.

" Damn, we lost them. Again!" Kanade said.

" But we now can confirm they are all in the north. They are doing something there." Rin said.

" So we can only go there huh. What is there anyway." Shippo said.

" I don't know. All I know is Mt Hakurei was in the North but that disappeared years ago. They can't go there." Kohaku said.

" There's also the tribe of wolves in the north, they too are part of Koga's tribe. But I'm not sure if that's related." I said.

" They are trying to find something, something that is hard to find." Rin said.

" Let's just follow. We'll go to the next village." I said.

" So we met Kasairyu and Tsurukina. Who else?" Shippo said.

" That's all the servants we know of." Kanade said.

" I hope we won't meet another one soon." Rin said.

" We will be meeting them for sure." I said.


	5. Chapter 5: Sesshomaru

I know there are a lot of Sesshomaru fans… so here you go! Let's meet Sesshomaru-sama! :)

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><p><span>Chapter 5: Sesshomaru<span>

Unknown P.O.V

Jaken was excited to see Rin again. He and his lord has travelled to the priestess village many times to visit Rin. Too bad the disgraceful half brother Inuyasha is there. The time for Rin to choose to live with humans or follow Sesshomaru-sama comes soon. Jaken wishes she would stay in the human village. But she hasn't even thought of it. He knows Sesshomaru-sama thinks the same too. The foolish human girl can't possibly follow Sesshomaru-sama forever. She's a human for goodness sake, they have such short lives. Jaken realises he should stop thinking before Sesshomaru-sama catches him. It's like Sesshomaru-sama can read his every thought.

The two were near Lady Keade's house when Sesshomaru saw a small child staring at him. He has long white hair, dog ears and wore a blue kimono. His nephew. Sesshomaru didn't speak. He didn't even acknowledge the child as he past him. Takeo followed after his uncle.

Sesshomaru entered Lady Kaede's home. Lady Kaede, who was preparing charms for exorcism, was startled by the demon's presence. " Sesshomaru-sama."

" Is Rin here?" Sesshomaru asked without greeting.

" I don't see her around." Jaken said. Lady Keade panicked slightly. What should she say? Takeo also entered the house, looking confused.

" Rin-"

" Rin went with the nymph." Takeo interrupted. Lady Kaede was shocked. She forgot to tell the small child to keep Rin's location a secret. Now the lord will be angry.

Without any expression, Sesshomaru looked at Takeo and asked " A nymph?"

" Yeah! Kanade. She's such a sweet girl! Kohaku and fox boy went with her too. She said she wanted to train herself and help her defeat Shiguru or something like that." Takeo said.

" She's gone?" Sesshomaru said.

" Shiguru? Sesshomaru-sama, do you think he means Shiguri? He has been growing in power ever since he got his four servants." Jaken said.

" I'm sorry Sesshomaru-sama. I warned her but she was determined to follow. She said she wanted to be strong enough to walk along side with you Sesshomaru-sama." Lady Kaede said. Sesshomaru didn't speak. He only walked away, out of the house.

" How can Rin leave just like that. Doesn't she know that Sesshomaru-sama takes time to visit her?" Jaken said, not aware of Sesshomaru's departure. " The time for her to choose what she should do is coming soon and she just left the village without telling us. What kind of girl is she? We shouldn't have taken her in in the first place. Right Sesshomaru-sama. Sesshomaru-sama?" Jaken quickly looked around for his master.

" Uncle just left." Takeo said.

" What? Sesshomaru-sama! Sesshomaru-sama!" Jaken called out as he ran after his master. Then he stopped, appeared back again in the house and yelled at Takeo " And even if he is your uncle don't call him that! Call him the lord Sesshomaru-sama!" Then Jaken stormed out of the house.

Kanade's P.O.V

" I said we go in that direction!" I demanded, pointing to the right.

" That's west! I say we go in that direction! That's north." Shippo said, pointing behind him.

" But we just CAME from that direction. Are you saying we've been going south this whole time?" I said

" Um… shouldn't someone go up there and check?" Rin's voice interrupted us. I could hear Kohaku sigh.

" How in the world did we get lost in this stupid forest anyway!" I exclaimed, looking at the thick dense forest around us.

_" Has anyone seen my top?" Shippo said as we walked in the direction of where Kasairyu and Tsurukina said. _

_" Here, I found it on the ground." Rin said as she passed Shippo his top. Kirara jumped and catches it in her mouth and then played with it._

_" Kirara, pass it to me." Shippo said. Kirara meowed and held it in her mouth. Shippo tried to get back his top, Kirara bit unto it tight. It was a long struggle between the two, the top slipped out of Kirara's mouth accidentally and Kirara bit Shippo's hand. Shippo cried in pain as he pulled his hand out. Kirara meowed and licked his wound._

_" Ow…" Shippo said._

_" I'll get some herbs." Rin said as she went to another direction. Then Shippo asked me " Aren't you the nymph? Can't you heal my hand?"_

_" I told you, I'm only half nymph. I didn't inherit healing abilities." I said._

_Kohaku picked up the top from the ground and then passed it to Shippo. While Shippo and I argued, Rin didn't come for a long time. Kohaku said he's going to search for her. Soon we got tired of arguing and waited for the two. It took a long time. Suddenly we heard Rin scream. The three of us ran to the source of the sound. I hope they are okay…_

_We found them… between two small cliffs… with Rin on top of Kohaku. Rin was clutching a plant in her hands. Kohaku sighed and said " Rin, please get off me."_

_" I got the plant…" Rin said, holding up the plant as if it was a prize or something. It took us some time to pull both of them up. When we did, Rin was about to treat Shippo's wound when she realised it was already healed. Demons heal faster than humans remember?_

_" Hey… does anyone remember where North is?" Kohaku said. We looked at the surrounding trees, everything looks the same. Damn it._

" I'll go up and check then." Shippo said. Then he jumped unto a tree branch, and then the next. I realised that the trees were growing taller and taller. Huh? Shippo kept jumping and the trees around us just grew taller.

" Shippo! Get down!" I called him. Shippo stopped climbing and went down.

" Are the trees… growing?" Rin asked.

" I think Tsurukina's doing this. She took advantage of our little mishap and altered the trees. So if we try to climb up, the trees will just out grow us." I said.

" So how are we suppose to find North?" Rin asked.

" I don't know. We have to retrace our steps." Kohaku said.

Then Kirara meowed and went to a certain direction. " Kirara, wait!" Shippo called out " That's the wrong way!" Then Shippo ran after Kirara. The three of us followed after Shippo. When we caught up with Shippo. I asked " Where's Kirara?"

" There." Shippo said. I looked at the Kirara. She was looking at two demons in front of us. The smaller one was almost Kirara's size but slightly bigger. He had green skin, sunken eyes and a long nose. He also wore a long brown hat with a brown kimono. He was also holding a staff with two heads: an old man's head and a woman's head. The other was more awesome than the smaller one. He had pale skin and his golden eyes looked at me. He has a blue crescent on his head and long white hair down to his legs. He wore a white kimono and had two swords strapped to his side. He also had this huge white fur cloth hung over his shoulder. He also wore stone armour. Who are they? Kohaku and Rin came along. Rin smiled brightly and said " Sesshomaru-sama!"

Then she ran towards the dog demon happily, the bigger one I mean. Kohaku smiled too. Then I recalled, oh. Sesshomaru's Inuyasha'a half brother and Rin's parental father. Kohaku and Shippo know him well. I am so new to this.

Rin hugged Sesshomaru and said " I missed you!"

Sesshomaru was silent and then said " I missed you too."

" Hey! Don't you forget about me!" The small one complained. Rin smiled brightly and held the little demon's waist to pick him up. The small demon struggled as he tried to get out of Rin's grasp. Then Rin said " Hello Jaken-sama! You are still small and cute!"

" Don't call me cute!" Jaken protested.

" Sesshomaru?" I said.

" Hey! Have respect you nymph! It's Sesshomaru-sama! The son of the great Ino-no-taisho!" Jaken said as he pointed his staff to me.

" Hello Sesshomaru-sama." Kohaku said.

" Hey, what are you doing here?" Shippo asked.

" She wasn't in the village so I came to look for her." Sesshomaru, sorry, Sesshomaru-sama said. " Who are you?"

" I'm Kanade, protector of the water tribe along the great river." I said as I stepped forward.

" You are a hanyou." Sesshomaru-sama said. Shoot, he discovered who I am in an instant. He must have noticed something's wrong with my scent. This guy isn't a joke.

" I don't trust hanyous." Sesshomaru-sama said. Then he created a poison whip in his hand. Oh no…

" Sesshomaru-sama, don't! She's my friend." Rin said as she grabbed Sesshomaru-sama's left arm before Sesshomaru-sama could take another step. He looked at Rin and said " You may trust her but I don't."

" Woah, I'm just after another demon okay. I know, happy reunion but we have to get out of this forest and go north." I said.

" Rin. You cannot follow them." Sesshomaru-sama said.

" Why?" Rin asked.

" Hey! You can't just do that!" Shippo said.

" I don't trust the hanyou." Sesshomaru-sama said. " She reeks of wolf demon blood."

" Go away you hanyou! You are not worthy of my lord's presence!" Jaken said as he waddled towards me. I glared at him. Jaken got scared, stepped back, looked down and said " I'll keep quiet…"

" Please? She's not that bad." Rin said.

" Why are you travelling with them? Are you too after the demon she's after?" Sesshomaru-sama said.

" Well… not exactly. I came to train…" Rin said.

" You could always do that in the village. Let's go." Sesshomaru-sama said.

" Wait, you can't just take her." Kohaku said.

" What if I prove it to you. That I don't mean for any harm to come towards her." I said as I stepped forward. Sesshomaru-sama remained quiet. His aura is scary…

" How?" Sesshomaru-sama asked.

" I'll… find the way out of this forest, show you how strong I am. I can assure you Rin is in safe hands." I said.

" That doesn't prove that I can trust you." Sesshomaru-sama said.

" But your own brother is a hanyou! I thought you will be friendlier with hanyous since you helped Inuyasha stop Naraku! I thought you were pretty cool." I said.

Sesshomaru was quiet at first then he said " I do not consider that half-breed my brother." So mean…

" Sesshomaru-sama. Why not you join us? Maybe if you spend some time with her you can trust her." Rin suggested.

" That's ridiculous!" Jaken yelled as he waved his human-head staff around. " The great lord Sesshomaru-sama will not spend his precious time with a dirty hanyou!"

" Oh will you shut up!" I yelled at Jaken. Jaken jumped in shock, ran behind Sesshomaru-sama and said " Help me Sesshomaru-sama…"

Sesshomaru was quiet at first then he said " Okay."

" What?! My lord, you can't be serious! She's a hanyou!" Jaken complained.

" Do think I am making an acquaintance with you, I am just following along to make sure Rin is safe." Sesshomaru said as he stepped forward.

" Fine with me. Come on, let's fine a way out of here." I said. Then I started walking in a certain direction.

" Hey! Isn't that west?! Shouldn't we go back to where we stopped?" Shippo said.

" LIKE YOU KNOW WHERE NORTH IS!" I yelled " We're freaking lost! The best solution now is to walk towards a certain direction until we're out of the woods."

" Why can't you just go up and find where's north? It will save a lot of time." Jaken said.

" The forest is enchanted. Tsurukina, one of Shiguri's servants, used the forest to trap us inside." Kohaku explained.

" Then I'll sniff her out. Then we can kill her and the spell will be broken." Sesshomaru-sama said.

" You can't do that. As a part wolf demon I can sniff out smells too. Tsurukina doesn't have a scent at all… nor does her fellow comrade Kasairyu." I said.

" No scent?" Sesshomaru-sama said.

" I know, it's strange." I said.

" Well I agree with Kanade's plan. If we keep walking we'll find the exit soon." Kohaku said.

" But what about Tsurukina? She will probably keep the forest growing." Shippo said.

" It's a big forest, so if more plants grow ahead, she must be nearby. Then we can take her out, or use her to get to Shiguri." I explained.

" Won't it be better if we split into groups? We'll find the exit easier that way." Shippo suggested.

" Okay! Let's split up! Rin, Jaken and Sesshomaru-sama will be in my group and the rest will be in your group!" I said.

" Do not order Sesshomaru-sama around you ungrateful hanyou!" Jaken complained.

" Why do you group us that way? You can't stand me?" Shippo asked suspiciously.

" That and to show Sesshomaru Rin's safe with me. It's okay, you got Kohaku and Kirara so no biggie." I said. Then Kohaku took something out of his bag and went to Rin. He gave Rin two small roles made of bamboo: one red and one green. Both ends were shields shut, one side by wood and the other by rice paper. There was a string coming from the wooden side.

" What's this?" Rin asked.

" Fireball tubes. You light them up by the string and aim it towards they sky. A smoke ball will shoot up, high enough for us to see. Use the green one if you find an exit and the red one if you are in trouble." Kohaku explained. Rin nodded. Then we went our separate ways.

I went forward while Shippo went to the direction we came from. As we walked, I concentrated on the road ahead, careful to watch any plants grow. If there are, Tsurukina is nearby. Sesshomaru-sama was staring at me nearly the entire time, watching my every move. Rin walked happily along Sesshomaru-sama while Jaken trailed behind, grumbling to himself. Doesn't that little imp stop complaining?

We've gotten quite far when I heard something move. I quickly drew my water whip. Sesshomaru-sama noticed his too and held one of his two swords, getting ready to draw it when needed. Rin noticed this and drew her own sword. Jaken, who was grumbling, noticed our tense positions and looked at us, confused. Then he asked " Huh? What's wrong."

Then a vine shot out of the trees and wrapped around Jaken, making him scream. Rin quickly reacted and quickly cut the vine, letting Jaken fall unto the ground on his face. Jaken quickly got up and ran to Sesshomaru-sama, calling for his master's name. The vine that was cut quickly grew back. Oh no. Then suddenly several vines shot out from several directions shot towards us. I quickly used my water whip to cut the oncoming vines. Sesshomaru-sama drew out his sword and cut the vines. My efforts were fruitless, the vines grew back and attacked me again, again I attacked them with my waterwhip. Sesshomaru-sama however… his vines didn't grow back.

" How did you do that?" I asked as I cut the vines. Damn… they just keep regenerating.

" Bakusaiga has an ability which when it's cut, it cannot regenerate!" Jaken said as he tried to block off the vines by using his staff. When he taps the staff on the ground, the old man's mouth opens wide open and a stream of fire kills off the vines. Since fire kills them off, they don't regenerate. I feel lousy now…

" Water slash!" I exclaimed as I shot water blades in all directions. It cut all the blades around me. I've got to find a way to get rid of the vines for good. Cutting is futile unless I can cut without making them grow again or somehow learn how to use the fire element.

" Ah!" Rin screamed. I quickly turned around and ran towards her " Rin!"

In a split of a second, Sesshomaru jumped forward and cut the vines that quickly held Rin in lightning speed. Rin dropped unto the ground with her own two feet. Wow, that guy's fast. Then I felt a strong grip on my right wrist, Oh no! The vines! They quickly wrapped around me and started to pull me backwards. I pressed my feet unto the ground, hopefully stopping the vines from pulling me. I did it on the nick of time, just as the vines were going to drag me into the green vegetation. Still, I was still struggling against the vines that pulled me.

Then… the pull stopped. The vines around me dropped off. I looked behind me. It was Sesshomaru. He saved me. " You are useless." he said.

" I'm not! You just don't let me do anything!" I shouted. Then I realised something. If the vines were moving…

I quickly looked around. I can't track her by scent but maybe there are other ways of tracking her. I listened carefully as I slashed away the vines. Argh, these vines are getting annoying. Then I heard a branch break. I quickly ran towards the direction of the sound.

" Kanade! Where are you going!" Rin called out after me. I ignored her… she's near.

Shippo's P.O.V

Kohaku looked around, Kirara too. I kept walking forward, taking a turn left or right here and there. I can feel it, I think I know where the exit is. Then Kohaku said " Shippo, do you recognise this place?"

I looked around us. Hm… nope, it all looks the same to me. " I think we've been here before, a few times actually." Kirara meowed.

" I know where we are going." I told Kohaku.

" I think we're walking around in circles." Kohaku said.

" Well everywhere looks the same!" I said.

" Maybe we should just head in one direction like Kanade said, then we'll be saving time." Kohaku said.

" That girl is just a stubborn mule. She doesn't know where's she's going." I said. It will take forever! If we just keep walking, Tsurukina will make the place bigger. I was actually hoping to bump into Tsurukina and capture her so that we can get out of this forest faster like Sesshomaru-sama said.

" But she does. Don't let your opinion of her cloud your judgement." Kohaku said.

" Well trust me, I know what I'm doing." I said before walking off again. Then we walked off silently through the woods. Is there no end to this? Kirara yawned, looks like she's tired. I don't blame her. We've been walking for hours and we had a huge battle earlier today. It was pretty dull just walking in one direction.

" Hey Shippo, do you like Kanade?" Kohaku asked me. I jumped in shock. And yes, I admit, I blushed. My pervious feeling for Kanade when I first met her at still lingering deep inside my heart no mater how many times I tell myself what a hot tempered mean girl she is. Well… she is nice once in awhile and cute… wait a minute.

" W-what made you say that?!" I exclaimed as I looked at Kohaku.

" It was kind of obvious. Although you and Kanade argue most of the time, you both are very close. Not to mention how you first reacted when you first met Kanade." Kohaku said. I sighed and said " Yeah… well… I was being kind and we aren't that close…"

" You are more comfortable when talking to her than with me or Rin, even Kirara!" Kohaku said. Kirara lifted her head up and looked at Shippo, alert. ( Kirara was travelling on Kohaku's shoulder since she's tired.)

" Well… um… I-I guess I do like Kanade a little bit…" I stammered while blushing. Then I said quickly " Don't tell her, she will kill me."

" Okay, I won't." Kohaku said. Then they walked on. Then I thought of a counter attack to make Kohaku equally embarrassed as he was now. It was nearly as obvious as Kohaku realised I like… what am I saying! I don't really have a crush on Kanade, right?

" So how about you? You seem close to Rin." I said. I looked behind me and saw Kohaku blushing. Ha! Got ya!

" Rin? Um… we're really good friends, that's all." Kohaku said as he tries to act normally. Kirara looked at Kohaku.

" Come on, it's written all over your face. You like Rin don't you?" I said, smirking.

" I-I don't know what your talking about." Kohaku stammered.

" You are closer to her than me and Kanade. You always fight along side with her and protect her. Not to mention you call out for her first before anyone else." I said, pointing to Kohaku.

" Um… how do I say this?" Kohaku said " Don't tell Rin or Sesshomaru?"

" Huh? Why Sesshomaru?" Shippo asked.

" Who knows what he will do to me if he knows I like Rin… a bit…" Kohaku said, blushing even more. I couldn't help it but laugh out loud. Kohaku then said " Stop it! It's not funny!" Then suddenly, we heard another laugh. I quickly stopped laughing and look at the trees. I saw Kasairyu, laughing his head off.

" Kasairyu!" I said.

Kasiaryu stopped laughing and then said " Go on, keep laughing! Ha ha ha!"

" H-how long have you been here?" I said as Kohaku drew out his pickaxe. Kirara jumped off Kohaku and turned into her beast form.

" Oh… I don't know. Somewhere along the lines ' um… I guess I do like Kanade a little'. Ha ha! It's so hilarious! The hanyou! From all the girls! Ha ha ha!" Kasairyu laughed at me.

" Hey!" I yelled out. Kohaku quickly strew his pickaxe at Kasairyu's direction. Kasairyu jumped ahead, avoiding the attack. Kasairyu landed on the ground with his two feet unharmed. Kasairyu smirked and said " You haven't improved at all since your last battle."

" Firebombs!" I yelled as he threw a bunch of small bombs at him. The bombs landed on Kasairyu's feet and exploded. They created a large cloud of smoke, blinding Kasairyu. Kasairuyu quickly covered his eyes with his arms. I took the chance to hit him with foxfire. Kasairyu was knocked backwards and out of the smoke cloud.

" You better pay attention to your surrounds than your huge ego!" I yelled. Ha! He deserved it.

" Tch! I was just getting warmed up." Kasairyu said.

Kohaku's P.O.V

I swung his pickaxe again and Kasairyu nearly dodged out of the way. His left arm began to bleed. Unguarded, Kirara took the chance of pouncing unto Kasairyu. Kasairyu quickly made his fire blades and cut Kirara's chest. Kirara cried out in pain as Kasairyu rolled away. Kirara! She slowly got up, she's fine thankfully. Before Shippo could hit him with fox fire again, Kasairyu began slashing away at him. What can I do? If I use my axe, I could hit Shippo. I don't really have much of a choice.

" Shippo! Watch out!" Isaid as he swung his pickaxe again. Shippo ducked as Kasairyu jumped, he heard the warning. Then he looked down at the us. Then he said " Looks like this is going to be a bit tricky. I hope you don't mind the heat."

Kasairyu the shot pillars of fire to the surrounding trees, they easily caught on fire. Soon, a wall of fire surrounded the group. Kasairyu grinned. Then he dropped down and shot pillars of fire at me. I rolled out of the way in time. He used his pickaxe again but missed the fast paced Kasairyu.

Shippo and Kirara, meanwhile, were dodging the falling trees around them. The trees had grown weak and were falling down unto them. Shippo tried to extinguish the fire with his own green foxfire but the fire was moving faster than he could stop it. Kirara was just fine but she had to dodge the falling branches and trees so she wouldn't get too injured. Kasairyu was concentrating on me now. Does he think I'm easier to handle? That I cannot stand fire as well as Shippo and Kirara can?

I quickly stepped back, I need to stop Kasairyu somehow, but what? Suddenly, I heard a quiet fizzing sound. I looked at my pockets, it was the fireball tubes! They've been ignited, maybe when I hit a tree or something. It may send them help and possibly distract Kasairyu. I quickly took out both tubes- the last remaining tubes I have unfortunately- they have both been ignited. I quickly jumped out of Kasairyu's way, in a direction in which he won't get to me so easily. Then I held one tube in each hand. Kasairyu smirked. Then he ran towards me with twin fire blades in his hands. Come on… work!

Two loud ' Pop!' sounds came and two smoke bombs shot into the sky, one leaving a trail of red and the other green. Kasairyu was slightly started but didn't slow down, he used his blades to cut an ' X' shape on my's chest. I yelled out in pain as staggered backwards, letting go of the empty tubes. I hugged himself over my chest. The blades didn't cut me but they sure burnt me. I quickly got rid of any fire on my suit.

Kasairyu smirked again and said " You're finished."

Kanade's P.O.V

Sesshomaru-sama and I were standing right next to each other, looking at Tsurukina lazily lying down on the tree branch above us. Rin who was surprisingly soon followed by Jaken (completely tired) was behind us.

" Oh, I didn't expect to see a pet with you since we last met." Tsurukina said as she looked at us. I looked at Sesshomaru-sama. He was expressionless. Doesn't he care?

" Do not call my lord a pet! He is no pet! He is the great lord Sesshomaru-sama, the lord of the west and son of the great Ino-no-taishou!" Jaken yelled, obviously offended by Tsurukina's statement. He really yells and protests a lot for a servant.

" Oh, I didn't see you there." Tsurukina said looking at Jaken.

" What?! Why you…" Jaken started but shut up when he saw Sesshomaru-sama. Jaken stepped back and bowed his head.

" So is she Tsurukina?" Sesshomaru-sama said.

" Yeah." I replied.

" Then let's get this over with." Sesshomaru-sama said as he held up his Bakusaiga.

" Wait! Don't kill her yet!" I exclaimed.

" Huh? When did we come friends again?" Tsurukina asked lazily as she put her finger on her lower lip.

" Did I say we were friends?!" I said, glaring at Tsurukina " We still need you to find Shiguri!"

Then suddenly we heard a loud ' POP!', two to be exact, nearly at the same time. We all looked up. There was nothing at first but then we saw two pillars of smoke clouds going upwards, one red and one green. Did they find the exit? Are they in trouble? They never mention anything about what happened if they shot both at the same time. Does that mean they found the exit AND they are in trouble?

" Oh, Kasairyu must have found them." Tsurukina said plainly.

" He's here too?" Rin said.

" Well we just saw them a few hours ago, it's no surprise he's in this forest too. They must be working together just to get me." I said. " Sounds a bit too extreme don't you think?"

" Shouldn't we go help them?" Rin asked.

" We'll finish her off, then go after them. We won't go far if Tsurukina is here." Sesshomaru-sama said. I thought of a solution. We don't know if Shippo, Kohaku and Kirara are fine or not. But if those fireball tubes were used, both or one, we need to find them quick. I don't think they shot those tubes on purpose.

" Rin, Jaken, help them. Sesshomaru-sama and I will settle Tsurukina." I ordered.

" W-www-wait! Why me?!" Jaken exclaimed.

" Kanade, I cannot allow you to let Rin be in such a dangerous situation." Sesshomaru-sama said.

" She isn't safe here ether, do you realise that? You just gave Tsurukina your weakness. It's best for her to run. I don't know how Rin weak she was when you took her in and take care of her, but she isn't helpless anymore Sesshomaru-sama. She's strong. Yes she may be the weakest among us but not helpless. Do you understand?" I said. Sesshomaru-sama was quiet at first, Tsurukina dropped down from her tree branch and rolled her head.

" Okay, enough chit-chat. Time to fight." Tsurukina said. Then she raised her arms, vines grew out of the ground.

" Rin, take Jaken and run." Sesshomaru-sama said. I looked at him, is he trusting me in my plan?

" Okay!" Rin said. Then she took Jaken's hand and ran off. Jaken was complaining then screaming as they took off. Seriously, that little imp is getting on my nerves. Thank goodness he's gone!

" You trust me?" I asked him.

" No, but she does have to run. You really need her?" Sesshomaru asked.

" She's the easiest and probably one of my only leads to Shiguri. I need to avenge him for my family." I said. Sesshomaru was quiet. Then the vines shot at our direction. We dodged it. A plan formed in my head. Sesshomaru-sama will definitely aim for Tsurukina. I should assist him by blocking the attacks.

Sesshomaru cut the vines and they fell unto the ground. Then he made his move towards Tsurukina. She narrowed her eyes and the trees around her wrapped around her. I aimed for the branches.

" Water slash!" I exclaimed as I cut the branches with my water blades. The weak branches fell off but the thick branches remained. Damn it. Sesshomaru cut his way through the branches… only to find no one there.

Suddenly, vines from all directions wrapped around my body and pulled me above the ground. It was unexpected so I didn't have the time to react. I struggled to free myself. How can I lose my guard?

" I could kill you right now you know?" Tsurukina's voice said behind me " But Shiguri needs you so I'll just have to end things here and carry you away. That was troublesome."

Damn it, you won't take me away. Then suddenly, I heard Tsurukina scream and I heard a thump on the ground. I looked down, Tsurukina was more worried about one of her arms since she was clasping her shoulder tightly. I felt the vines around me loosen. Yes! This is my chance! Before I could wiggle out of my tangled mess, I realised I was falling to the ground. I landed on the ground, I would like to say unscathed but that didn't happen. My body ached with pain. I quickly removed the remaining thick vines on me and looked around. I saw Tsurukina running away, clasping over her right shoulder. I looked at the ground… her arm was there…

Sesshomaru-sama then put back his sword in the scabbard and looked at me. I got up and said " You saved me."

Sesshomaru-sama was quiet. He was making that poker-face again. Is he expressionless or something? Then he said " She's weak, you can go after her. It would be easy to fight her when she's injured."

" No." I said. Sesshomaru-sama then looked at me and asked " Why?"

" My friends are in danger, for now they are my first priority." I said. Sesshomaru-sama nodded. Then we quickly ran through the trees after Rin.

Shippo's P.O.V

I did my best to shield Kasairyu's attacks and attack him by all means. He's really good. Even if I try to distract him, he will always counter it by injuring me. I had no choice. Kirara finally managed to get to Kohaku, who was seriously injured. He got burnt by Kasairyu while battling him. It's hard to fight when the place is falling apart.

" Kirara! Get Kohaku out of here." I said. Kirara roared and helped Kohaku up. Kasairyu kept trying to slash me with his blades. Most of my clothes were slightly burnt and I got a cut here and there. Nothing serious. Kasairyu was in no better state. I managed to get him with my fox fire once or twice. Then Kasairyu grabbed my neck when I was trying to dodge his attack and lifted me up with one hand. I struggled to get out of his grasp. It was getting harder to breathe each time.

" Time to meet your doom racoon dog." Kasairyu said as he squeezed my neck tighter. I tried to draw in any air but it was useless, it only made me even more breathless. My head was getting dizzy, I'm hallucinating. Oh why did I have to envision a white girl running to me?

Eh? A white girl?

Kasairyu suddenly gasped. His grip loosen and I grabbed unto Kasairyu's arm, taking in deep breaths of air. That was close. Rin had appeared suddenly behind Kasairyu and stabbed his back, near his chest. Did she… kill him? I kicked Kasairyu's chest and he dropped me unto the ground. I quickly got up. Rin pulled her sword out of Kasairyu, making him gasp him pain. I stepped back. Kirara appeared beside me with Kohaku on her back.

" You damn *****" Kasairyu swore.

" Don't you hurt my friends!" Rin exclaimed as she tried to stab Kasairyu again. Kasairyu dodged out of the way. I quickly then threw my toy snake at him. The toy transformed into a huge snake and was about to wrap around Kasairyu if he didn't went down unto the ground. The snake hit the trees, making them fall.

" Hey!" I could hear Kanade exclaimed. Kanade? She's here too? Did she and Rin see the smoke pillars?

Kasairyu gritted his teeth. Then pillars of fire shot from his feet and he flew upwards. He's not going to escape.

" Shippo! Kirara! Rin!" I heard Kanade call out. I looked at the direction of the fallen, burning trees. Kanade and Sesshomaru-sama were there. Kanade quickly went to us and said " Thank goodness you all are alright. Where's Kohaku?"

" He's injured. Kasairyu injured him." I said as I pointed to Kohaku. Sesshomaru quickly went towards Rin, I also saw Jaken jump out of the bushes and call for his master. When did Jaken get here?

" Are you okay Rin?" Sesshomaru said, then he noticed Rin's bloodied sword.

" I'm fine Sesshomaru-sama." Rin said.

" We should get out of here, the fire is out of control!" I said. Rin then noticed Kohaku on Kirara and said " What happened to him?"

" He got burnt badly, get on Kirara and take care of him, we have to get out of here." I said. I then turned himself into a flying bird and Kanade got on me, pulling Jaken along with her

" Hey! Don't grab me!" Jaken complained.

" Do you want me to leave you here?" Kanade asked, annoyed.

" N-no mistress." Jaken said. Mistress? Kirara and I quickly flew off, Sesshomaru jumped up high and flew. We all flew North since that's where we were headed. We were able to fly above the forest, that means Tsurukina is too injured to stop us. Maybe that's why Sesshomaru, Kanade and Rin got here, because they defeated Tsurukina and were going to help us. I couldn't see Kasairyu anywhere. But that didn't matter for now, we had to get out of this forest.

We landed at the north end of the forest. The moment we landed, Rin got off Kirara and asked Sesshomaru-sama for help. Jaken and Kanade got off me and I turned back into my own form. Rin quickly took out Kohaku's armour and shirt to reveal his nasty ' X' scar. It looks serious.

" Kanade, can you use your water for his wound?" Rin asked Kanade.

" On it." She said as she quickly wen to Kohaku's side and drew out a long stream of water from her pouch. Then she made it into a ball like shape and placed it on Kohaku's burns. Kohaku flinched in pain.

" Relax, it will help." Rin said.

" Can't you heal him hanyou? You are a part nymph after all." Jaken said.

" Only half nymph, I didn't inherit healing powers." Kanade said. Rin got up and said " I saw the herbs for burns earlier in the forest. I need to get them."

" What?! After all that trouble?!" I yelled at her.

" His wounds are only going to get worse. I ran out of the herbs for our previous wounds. I need to get them." Rin said.

" I'll follow you, make sure you don't get lost or hurt." Sesshomaru-sama said. Kanade looked like she was going to protest but stopped herself. Then Rin and Sesshomaru went into the forest. Kirara, who was beside me, turned back into her tiny cat form and looked up at me. I couldn't do anything really. I just hope Rin and Sesshomaru-sama will come back soon.

Rin's P.O.V

" There! That should be enough!" I said as I pulled out the last herb from the ground. I remember Lady Keade telling me about his herb. It's really effective for serious burns. She had to collect them nearly everyday when Lady Kikyo was taking care of Onigumo. Sesshomaru-sama was quiet and alert all the time. I wonder what he thinks of Kanade. I hope he trusts her. I really want to join Kanade and the others. I've become close with all of them. I mean even closer.

" Rin, why was your sword bloodied?" Sesshomaru-sama asked suddenly. I looked at him and said " Kasairyu, one of the servants, was strangling Shippo. I had to stab him."

" You saved Shippo?" Sesshomaru-sama asked.

" Yeah! I can protect myself and others now my lord!" I cheered, then I made my way out of the forest. Sesshomaru-sama quickly followed after me. He was silent again. He's always silent. But I can respect that. Each person is different right?

" Do you like travelling with Kanade and the others?" Sesshomaru-sama asked me.

" Of course! I like her! And it's so fun travelling!" I said " I want to help her. She seems so upset about losing her tribe. She thinks Shiguri killed them. I can't blame her. I might have done the same if I was brave enough to face the bandits who killed my family. If I become strong enough, I will be able to travel around with you Sesshomaru-sama!"

Sesshomaru-sama didn't speak. That's because we were at the edge of the forest. I quickly went to Kohaku, folded some of the herbs in my hands and twisted them. I could see the juices being squeezed out of the herbs. Kanade removed her ball of water from Kohaku's chest and I quickly placed the herbs on Kohaku's chest. Kohaku tried to bear with the pain.

" Sorry Kohaku, it will hurt for awhile." I told him.

" I-it's okay." He said. Then I dabbed the herbs all over his wound. Then I put the herbs aside and put some fresh herbs on the wound. Kohaku then fell asleep. I hope he gets better soon…

Kanade's P.O.V

We had to wait for a long time until Kohaku wakes up. I wasn't worried about Tsurukina and Kasairyu because Tsurukina's arm got chopped off and Kasairyu looked severely injured when I got to them. I spent my time exchanging my water from a nearby spring. That fire took some water out of me, I should get near a river soon before my skin dries out. If that happens I'll be in danger. The other half of the time I spent playing with Kirara or talking to Rin when Sesshomaru decided to relax. Jaken was quiet at least, but he was grumbling under his breath. Doesn't that imp ever stop talking unless afraid?

" Hey Rin, do you think Sesshomaru-sama trusts me enough to let you come along?" I asked.

" I don't know. But Sesshomaru-sama asked me if I like this group so I think that's a good sign!" Rin cheered. Rin, always optimistic. Then we saw Kohaku slowly get up. Rin quickly went to Kohaku's side and asked " Kohaku! Are you okay?"

" I think so…" Kohaku said.

" Are you fit enough to travel?" I asked him.

" Yeah. It would hurt but I think I'm fine. I've had worse injuries." Kohaku said as he put on his shirt and got up. He doesn't put on the armour though. Then I saw Sesshomaru-sama get up. Is he leaving? Is he going to take Rin with him?

" So Sesshomaru-sama… do you trust me?" I asked him. Sesshomaru-sama looked at me. Then he said bluntly " No." Shit! Now Rin's going to go! Not now! No not now!

" But she can stay." Sesshomaru-sama finished. Eh? What does he mean?

Sesshomaru-sama looked at Rin and said " Rin, you can take care of yourself now. If you really desire to follow them, I cannot stop you. But once it's finish, please return to the village." Rin smiled brightly and nodded. Then Sesshomaru-sama looked at me and said " I don't trust you because of the danger you put Rin in. The servants main aim seems to be capturing you while you seek out Shiguri himself. But you are able to protect Rin in certain situations. I'm still wary of you, but because of Rin's strength I can allow her to go."

Then Sesshomaru looked at Kohaku. Then he said to Kohaku " Kohaku, please take care of Rin."

" Me?" Kohaku asked.

" You have protected Rin many times in the past. I can trust you enough to keep her safe again." Sesshomaru-sama said. Sesshomaru-sama really doesn't trust me at all. That's practically what Kohaku's been doing all this time.

" I will." Kohaku answered. Sesshomaru-sama nodded and flew off. Jaken could only say a quick goodbye before grabbing unto the fur coat thing, screaming out of fear as Sesshomaru-sama flew. I'm glad the imp's gone, and that Rin can stay with us for awhile.

" Phew. I thought for a moment there you would have to leave the group." I said.

" Yeah! If Kohaku wasn't here Rin wouldn't be here ether." Shippo sighed.

" Wait, why me?" Kohaku asked.

" He doesn't trust me, probably not much in Shippo ether. It's like your the only one other than Rin and Jaken who he can really trust." I said.

" Um… I guess so." Kohaku said, I realised he was blushing slightly. I guess it must be some kind of great honour for him.

" Are you sure you can travel?" Shippo asked Kohaku.

" I'm fine." Kohaku said.

" Good, let's head off." I said, then we started walking towards North. I'm glad all those troubles are over. Rin ran ahead until she was right beside me. Then she looked at me and asked " Kanade, why do you want me in the group?"

I looked at Rin and said " Well, you wanted to come along. And you've been a great help for all of us. Besides it's nice to talk to some girl once in awhile."

Rin smiled at me. I smiled too. I hope we won't bump into anymore trouble. I want to get to what's in the north as soon as possible.

Unknown P.O.V

Kasairyu was resting on the ground, with his head on a thick log. He put his right hand over the wound in his chest. That was a close one. If she had hit right in the centre, he would have been dead right now. He heard the rustling of trees. No, not now. The wound is still fresh.

Tsurukina stumbled out of the woods and stared at her fellow comrade. How did he get so… bloody? Kasairyu was looking at Tsurukina in the same way. " What happened to you?" Kasairyu asked.

" They stupid dog demon cut my arm off. I can't grow it back. There's something about his sword. So I only have one arm now." Tsurukina said as she made her way next Kasairyu and sat next to him. " How about you?"

" The human girl, Rin, stabbed me in the back. Any closer and you wouldn't see me alive anymore." Kasairyu said.

" We underestimated the little girl. I didn't expect to see the dog demon ether. I wonder why he was here." Tsurukina said. Green ooze was spilling out from her right shoulder. Like Kasairyu's wound it was still fresh. They would both take at least two days to heal.

" Who's the dog demon?" Kasairyu asked.

" His servant, the goblin, imp, whatever, introduced him as Sesshomaru." Tsurukina said.

" Sesshomaru?" Kasairyu asked.

" Yeah, I heard of that name before somewhere but I'm too tired to remember." Tsurukina said.

" I know. He's the western lord, or at least the travelling one. He's pretty powerful." Kasairyu said.

" What was he doing here anyway." Tsurukina said as she closed her eyes to rest.

" I heard that Sesshomaru used to have a human girl travelling along with him despite his hatred to humans. Maybe Rin's the girl." Kasairyu said. He looked at Tsurukina. She was already fast asleep. Kasairyu rolled his eyes. Typical, Tsurukina is always sleepy.

He thought of his own theory Rin is the girl Sesshomaru cares for. Does that mean they will be going after another powerful demon? A swords woman with the help of a powerful demon, a well trained demon slayer, a fox demon who travelled with the group who defeated Naraku and most importantly: the hanyou girl with wolf demon blood and protector of her now non-existent tribe. He smirked, they have no idea what's installed for them, nether did Shiguri. A nymph- no, a half breed who gathered so many allies in such a short time.

This is going to be interesting.


	6. Chapter 6: Thunder Girl

Hello everyone! Remember Souten? Does it ring a bell? Or Koryu. Well refreshen your memory cause here they come!

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 6: Thunder girl<span>

Kanade's P.O.V

We were travelling along the mountains when Shippo received the mysterious message. When I mean ' receive', I mean a scroll hitting Shippo on the head as it dropped from the sky. I couldn't help myself but laugh. Ha ha! Serves him right.

" Are you okay Shippo?" Rin asked.

" Where did that come from?" Kohaku said as he looked at the sky. I kept laughing, sorry, it's just too hilarious! You should have seen Shippo's expression.

" Stop laughing!" Shippo yelled at me. Kirara went to the scroll and sniffed at it. Then she meowed, catching Shippo's attention. Shippo looked down at Kirara and took the scroll. He picked it up. Then he opened it. Shippo's face went into shock.

" What's wrong?" I asked him.

" I've been challenged!" Shippo exclaimed.

" What?!" I exclaimed. Shippo then showed me his scroll. I took it from him and read the contents:

_Greetings Shippo,_

_We haven't met in a long time. But I am here to challenge you again to show you my power. I have heard from my fellow servant and friend of your increase of power. This time I will defeat you. You can only come alone. Go to the nearest castle from here. You better hurry before sundown, or your friends will be in deep trouble._

" What is this?" I asked, then I showed the message to Rin and Kohaku.

" I don't know. The last time I received a message like this is from a fellow fox demon. I fought with him before, he's pretty ignorant in his pride as a fox demon. Is he really going to challenge me again? This is the fourth time." Shippo said.

" When did you last fight him?" I asked Shippo.

" A few months after the fox demon examination." Shippo said.

" That was pretty recent right? So why does he need anyone to tell him that you have gotten stronger?" I asked.

" Maybe I have grown stronger these past few days." Shippo said.

" That's not it. The writer also said you two haven't met in a long time. I don't think it's your fox rival." Kohaku said.

" So who could it be?" Rin asked.

" I don't know. It could be anyone." Shippo said. Really? I know Shippo is strong but he isn't well known other than his younger days while travelling with Inuyasha and the gang.

" Can't we just ignore it? I mean we don't have to go to it." I said. " We need to concentrate on going north, that's it."

" But what if he or she means what he or she says? Kohaku's already injured. The writer must know we are going north so it's best if Shippo fights one on one than risk all of us in danger." Rin said.

I looked at Shippo. Shippo then looked at me. It was like he was staring at me. This staring went on for awhile. Then I said " Well?"

" Wait, you were waiting for me to answer?" Shippo asked.

" Of course, why else would I look at you?" I said. I saw Shippo blushed a deep red, for some reason I felt myself blush too. Then he said " I-I take the challenge!"

" What?! Why?!" I exclaimed.

" This person must be too ignorant have have nothing else to do. Let's just finish this quickly and continue after Shiguri." Shippo said. Then he walked ahead and said " Follow me!"

" Who said you could take the lead?!" I exclaimed as I ran after him. Kirara, Kohaku and Rin followed after us. As we were walking, I couldn't help but feel as if we were being watched the entire time. Then suddenly, I felt the ground shake.

" Woah! What's going on?" Rin said as she tried to maintain her balance. Another loud rumble shook the ground. I nearly lost my balance and managed to stay on my own two feet. Kirara jumped unto my shoulder. Shippo fell unto the ground. Rin quickly grabbed unto Kohaku's arm to prevent herself from falling while Kohaku held one of the rocks beside us to prevent himself from falling. Then, it stopped. We all heaved a sigh of relief. That was a close one. When we tried to walk again, I felt something crumble at my feet. Eh?

Suddenly, the ground gave way beneath us and we started to fall. Oh shit! Kirara, who was beside me, quickly turned into her demon form and I climbed unto her. We stopped falling as we flew upwards. I looked around. I couldn't find my friends anywhere. Shippo? Rin? Kohaku? Did they fall beneath us. Shippo could easily transform himself to fly and save Rin and Kohaku but I don't see them. Then I heard faint screams from below.

" Guys! I'm coming!" I yelled. Then Kirara and I flew downwards, to the forest below us.

Shippo's P.O.V

I was stuck in a huge net, flying in mid air, calling out for my friend. Then I yelled out " Kanade! Rin! Kohaku! Kirara! KANADE!"

I looked around, who was carrying me? I need to get out of here. I then aimed at a weak area of the net and yelled " Foxfire!" A pillar of green fire shot out and hit the net… nothing. It didn't even cut, it wasn't damaged at all. I tried again, and again. Once I used blue fire but that didn't work ether. It was like this net was made for such an attack.

" Stop trying Shippo, it won't get you anywhere." A familiar squeaky voice told me. I looked up. It was a red dragon with four long horns on his head, two whiskers and wide dragon wings. The dragon was around half my height. It was struggling to keep me in the air too.

" Who are you?" I asked the dragon. The dragon went into shock, looked at me and said " You don't remember me?!"

" Remember what?" I asked him. But I do remember the voice from somewhere. Where have I heard it before? I thought hard.

" It's me! Koryu!" The dragon said. Koryu… Koryu…

" Doesn't ring a bell." I said. The dragon sighed and said " Remember the small dragon who played tricks on your friends before?"

I thought hard. Yeah… I remember that dragon. That was a long time ago, eight years if I recall correctly. He was really small, he did Souten's dirty work by trapping my friends and delaying them so they couldn't rescue me. Wait a minute…

" Koryu!" I exclaimed.

" Took you long enough." Koryu said as he looked ahead. Then I thought of the message " Where you the one who sent me the letter?"

" Of course, who else would deliver Souten's letters?" Koryu said.

" So Souten is challenging me?!" I exclaimed " Again?!"

" Actually that was an excuse to see you again. Souten didn't know how else to put it. She knew if she sent an invitation to visit, you wouldn't go since you are after Shiguri." Koryu said.

" Well if she wanted to see me again she should have waited some other time." I said.

" It's been eight years, my master is impatient." Koryu said.

" Well can you at least help my friends?" I said.

" Sorry. I'm under Souten's orders to keep them away during your battle so no interruptions will be made." Koryu said.

" I thought you said it was an excuse?!" I exclaimed.

" It is, but you still have to do it anyway. She does want to see if you can match up with her powers." Koryu said. " Ah, we're here."

I looked ahead. On the side of a huge mountain in front of me, I saw a large castle. I could see the castle getting larger and larger, towards the wide courtyard. Wait a minute. Koryu then let go of the net and I fell into the courtyard below. Ouch! That hurts. Then I struggled to get the net off me, where's the opening to this stupid net?

" Hello Shippo." A voice interrupted me. I looked at the girl who entered the courtyard, now standing in front of me. Souten?

Kohaku's P.O.V

" Where are we?" Rin asked me. I slowly got up, my limbs were aching. I'm surprised I managed to survive that fall. I got up and looked around me. We were in a forest, but exactly where? I have no idea.

" I don't know. Where's Kirara?" I asked. " Or Kanade and Shippo?"

" I don't see them around." Rin told me as she looked around.

" We must have been separated when we were falling. We'll look for them." I said.

" But where are they? We don't even know where we are." Rin told me.

" Um… I'll climb the trees and check. Maybe if I'm in a higher area, I'll be able to find out where we are. I suggest we go back to where we fell, they must be looking for us there." I told her. Then I started to climb. The branches rustled as I climbed. It wasn't easy since I was still recovering from my burns but I think I'm fine.

" Kohaku, did you hear something?" Rin asked me?

" No, why?" I said. Then I heard more rustling. It didn't come from me.

" That." Rin said.

" I hear it. Could it be Shippo or Kanade?" I asked as I got down the tree. Then I heard a familiar scratchy voice and a cat's meow.

" Rin! Rin! Rin! HELP!" Jaken yelled as he ran towards us. Or at least… it looks like Jaken. His movements weren't smooth and his mouth isn't moving.

" Jaken-sama! What happened?" Rin asked as she walked towards Jaken.

" Rin, wait. I don't think that's Jaken." I said as I grabbed her shoulder. Rin stopped and looked at me. " But… it's him isn't it?" Another meow. Kirara?

" Sesshomaru-sama is in trouble! Please help!" ' Jaken' yelled, keeping his distance. Normally he would come forward to plead and beg. Sometimes bowing if he's desperate. Rin started to become wary of him too.

" What happened?" Rin asked.

" Sesshomaru-sama is trapped in a cave. A barrier prevents him from escaping. I tried to help him but the barrier was too strong, even for the Great Lord Sesshomaru-sama!" ' Jaken' yelled. The meowing becomes loud roars.

" Jaken. Is Kirara with you?" I asked him.

" Y-Yes. I was surprised to find she isn't with you. So I tried to bring her to you, then we could fly away to save Sesshomaru-sama. But she fell into a travis and hurt herself. It isn't too deep. Help us please!" 'Jaken' explained. Kirara! I hope she is okay.

" Kohaku, I think he's telling the truth." Rin said.

" I don't know about Sesshomaru-sama but I'm sure Kirara is in trouble. Come on." I said as I went forward. Rin followed after me. ' Jaken' jumped in shock and started running. We an after him to a deep travis. Then I looked down while Rin searched for ' Jaken' who was no where to be seen.

" Kirara! Are you okay! Kirara!" I called out.

" Jaken! Where are you? Jaken!" Rin called out. Then I heard the roars from below and the meowing. " Kirara. we're coming to get you!"

" Where is she?" Rin said as she looked down the wide deep travis with me.

" I don't know. But she's there." I said " Rin, ca-"

From the corner of my eye, I could see a large scaly tail swinging towards Rin and I before we tumbled into the travis below. I grabbed's Rin's hand and threw my pickaxe unto the wall of the hole. The pickaxe lodged itself between two thick rocks and we suddenly stopped falling. Rin was holding unto me tightly.

" Ha ha, two down, two more to go." A squeaky voice said. Rin and I looked up. We saw a red dragon staring down at us. It had four long horns on his head, a long moustache and was grinning.

" We've been tricked!" Rin said. " There's some kind of device down there making the sound."

" Let us out!" I demanded from the dragon.

" Sorry. I can't let you do that. Try to figure it out on your own. I have to go after Kanade now. See ya." The dragon said. Then he stretched his large wings and took off. I gritted my teeth as I tried to hold on. How are we going to get out of this. Rin let go off me and I panicked. I looked at Rin. She was standing on the ground, a small wooden box mavin the meowing sounds was beside her. Rin picked it up and switched it off. I slowly got down too. At least this isn't too bad. We can climb up easily but it will take some time.

I hope Shippo, Kirara and Kanade are okay.

Kanade's P.O.V

I sighed. Kirara roared out to call our friends, no response. Where are they? Kirara and I were flying above the forest next to the mountain. So far we haven't seen any signs of Shippo, Rin or Kohaku. Where the hell are they? Then I realised Kirara looked a little tired.

" Kirara, you're tired. We'll go and rest for awhile okay?" I said. Kirara nodded. Then I saw a dirt pathway ahead of us. I pointed to the direction of the path and said " Kirara, land there." Kirara flew down to the dirt pathway and landed on the ground. I got off Kirara and sat down. Kirara changed back into her cat form and sat next to me.

I wonder if they all are safe. I hope Shippo saved them when they were falling since he can transform and save them. But what if Shippo couldn't? Are they hurt? Kohaku's already injured. How did the rocks give away in the first place? An avalanche? Probably. But it's too much of a coincidence. The incident happened soon after Shippo got the letter. I wonder who sent it. What is he or she planning?

Kirara then stood up and sniffed the air. I looked at her. " What's up?"

Kirara then started walking down the dirt path, as if she was looking for something. Has she found anyone? No… sniffing for people is only or canine animals. I sniffed the air… there is something up ahead. Not my friends but something worth finding out. I stood up and followed Kirara. It must be close if Kirara can smell it.

Kirara and I walked down the dirt path. Then Kirara stopped and looked around. I did too. Then I saw a pile of fish. Of course, Kirara must be hungry. But what is a pile of fish doing in the middle of the road. Kirara walked towards it and sniffed it carefully. This is just too easy. It might be a trap. Kirara walked around the pile of fish, wary of the situation. She looked around and sniffed the pile of fish again. Then she took a bite out of one of them. Nothing happened. She took another.

" Huh, I thought something would happen. Maybe someone dropped that pile of fishes." I said to Kirara who was no busy eating the fishes. Then suddenly, Kirara fell unto the ground sideways.

" Kirara!" I called out as I ran towards the cat. I picked her up in my hands, she's asleep. I then took one of the fishes and sniffed it. Oh no… there's a hint of sleeping power inside the fish. It's not a lot so I couldn't detect it at such a far distance. Kirara wouldn't have noticed it at all.

" Damn it. Someone is trying to let our guards down." I growled. Then I stood up and started walking. It's no use staying. Whoever planned this trap must be coming after me. The avalanche before must have been set up to separate us. That means… it's not certain that Shippo, Kohaku and Rin are all in the same place. I kept my cool. That person will be after me soon. It's useless to wait. I'll just have to let it come to me. The person will be around when that happens and when it does, I'll catch him or her.

As I was walking, I saw a figure ahead. It looked like a human, but much larger than any other. Around twice the size. I couldn't see it's face because it's face was covered with a hood. It's shoulders were hunched and it's head was down. Who is this? The culprit?

" We finally meet, Kanade." The figure said.

" Who are you." I demanded.

" I am Shiguri." The figure said " Return to me what is rightfully mine or die by my hand."

I gritted my teeth. Is this really Shiguri? The one I have been pursuing? But it's strange… from all the times why did he decide to come out now? If this is really Shiguri, he would lock me down before demanding for it. It's his style to destroy and gain. Not ask and attack. If I had something with me, he wouldn't ask to save me.

Then I realised something was peeking under the long brown cloak… a tip of a large red tail. Here it is.

" Water slash!" I yelled as I drew a large blade of water and shot it at the direction of the figure. The figure freak out and started running. The water slash split into three blades, cutting the cloak into several pieces. The cloak fell down along with the trickster.

" Water whip!" I yelled as I used the rest of my water to form a long whip in my right hand. The I aimed it towards the figure, wrapping the whip around it's leg. The now scaly red figure was trying to use it's leather wings to fly away but I pulled it towards me. The dragon, as I can now see, landed in front of me. I glared at it.

" Oh no…" the dragon murmured. I put Kirara on the ground beside me, grabbed one of it's long horns on it's head and pulled it's head up. The dragon howled in pain.

" Who are you and what do you want." I demanded in a loud voice.

" I-I'm K-Koryu. I-I-I-I was just doing my j-job." The dragon murmured. Man… he's really weak.

" What job?" I growled as I tighten my grip on his horn. Koryu became scared and blurted out " It was Souten! She told me to keep you guys away. She thought she should do the same thing as before since most of you don't know her and to make you think it was a battle! Please don't hurt me! I'm sorry!"

" As before? What do you mean?" I said.

" E-e-e-eight years ago, S-S-Shippo got the message from S-S-Souten about a challenge. I-It was the f-f-fight to the d-d-death b-because s-s-she thought h-h-he killed her brothers. B-b-but it's not the same this time! S-s-she harbours no i-ill intentions t-towards him anymore. S-s-she just want to see him again. B-b-but there w-w-will be a battle f-f-for fun and I-I-I was o-ordered to k-k-keep you guys away. E-e-especially y-y-you Kanade." Koryu stammered.

" How do you know my name?" I demanded.

" W-we did research a-about you so t-that the traps w-will work." Koryu said.

" That makes sense now. So it was Souten who sent the letter." I said. " Bring me to her. She has Shippo right?"

" Y-yes." Koryu said. Then I let go of his horn. Koryu hit his head on the ground again. Koryu then murmured " Ouch…"

I released my water whip, put the remaining water inside my water pouch and picked Kirara up. Koryu got up slowly and stretched himself. I then climbed unto his back.

" Wait, what are you doing?!" Koryu freaked out as I sat on him. Koryu got unto his four feet.

" I can't fly. You will bring me to Souten. Got it?" I ordered. Koryu nodded. Then he flew off into the sky. We flew into the direction of the mountain I fell from. I hope Rin and Kohaku are okay. But for now I need to find Shippo. He's gotten himself into big trouble. Killing her two brothers? Shippo told me he hasn't really killed anyone. Unless… Souten… Manten and Hiten! Aren't those the names of his father's killers? Are they related. If they are, who knows how Souten might act!

" Hurry up Koryu!" I told him.

" I am! I am!" Koryu complained. " You sound just like Souten…"

" Um… I'm worried about Shippo. He's got himself into big trouble." I said.

" I assure you he's fine." Koryu said " I told you my master harbours no ill intentions anymore."

" Even after her brothers died?" I asked. Koryu nodded. I was silent. If Souten really harbours no ill intentions… then what is the fight for?

" How about Kirara? When will she awake?" I asked Koryu.

" I didn't put in a lot of sleeping powder so she should awaken around and hour or so from now." Koryu said. " She should have been more careful. This is the second time she fell into my traps, well Souten planned them anyway."

" She's very smart." I said.

" So are you. The last time I failed it's because I didn't know Kagome can only say ' sit' to make Inuyasha hit the ground. I tried to impersonate as her and say it but I end up getting caught, like just now."

" You should have hidden your tail. How about Kohaku and Rin?" I asked.

" Down in a hole. They should be climbing out since Kohaku has that pickaxe of his." Koryu said. " Ah! We're here!"

I looked down at a tall mountain. There was a dull looking castle with a huge courtyard. So this is Souten's place. Koryu landed in the large courtyard and collapsed. Koryu wasn't a very big dragon. I must have been too heavy for Kirara in one arm and holding Koryu's horn in the other, I asked " Where's Shippo?"

" I-I-In the main room in front of you." Koryu said as he pointed to the large building across the main gate. I stomped towards it. Please let Shippo be alright…

" Thank you Shippo!"

" Oh! Sou-"

I pushed the paper rice door open and was silent. " -ten…"

Shippo was fine alright. He was sitting cross-legged on the floor, slightly nervous about the girl who was hugging him tightly. She has long black hair with short ponytails at the sides of her head. She had a wide forehead above her green eyes and looks a bit like a tomboy. She wore spiky shoulder pads, with horns perturbing out of it. She wore a blue shirt, red earrings, black chest armour, a yellow cloth belt, two silver brackets with a red gem in them and blue pants. I could only describe the situation as awkward. Since I'm holding Koryu with one hand and Kirara one the other, looking at this.

" Eh? What happened?" The girl said as she looked at me, still holding unto Shippo. I was silent. A bad feeling rose to my chest. I let go of Koryu's horn, letting his head hit on the ground, put Kirara on the floor of the room to let her sleep and then looked at them. Shippo was speechless.

" I'm going to get Kohaku and Rin." I told them. Then I walked off, more like stomped off. I heard Shippo called out for me. I ignored him. Argh! When I was all worried about him, here he is enjoying himself with some girl. Ha! I can't believe I was worried even a little bit. I thought he was hurt. But why was I feeling this? I mean I've seen it a lot of times when Shippo flirts with other girls. It's extremely strong. Suddenly I felt guilty, which makes me want to leave even more.

" Oi! Kanade!" Shippo called out as he grabbed my arm. I pulled away and walked.

" Look Kanade, it's not what you think." Shippo said as he walked along side with me.

" Uh huh. Like I'll believe that." I said.

" No seriously. We were just talking about the past and then she suddenly hugged me. I didn't expect that. We're not like that!" Shippo said.

" So you took the liberty of staying with her instead of finding your friend? You are horrible." I said.

" But I couldn't leave!" Shippo said as we got into the courtyard near the gate. " I wanted to find you guys but Souten didn't want me to leave."

" That was Souten?!" I exclaimed as I turned around and looked at him.

" Yeah." Shippo said.

" Isn't she the sister of your father's killers?!" I exclaimed.

" Yes… but we've settled that already. Look, I'm sorry I couldn't go and find you." Shippo said.

" You're unbelievable." I growled. Then I walked off.

" Why are you being so angry? It's like… your jealous or something." Shippo said. I stopped in my tracks. Jealous? Me? Like I would be jealous of Souten. I just… don't trust her that's all. But I know why I'm so angry.

" I'm angry because I was worried about you!" I yelled at Shippo. I turned around to look at him, he was surprised and confused. " When I heard you were kidnapped I thought you would be in big trouble. I could have find Rin or Kohaku first but I thought you were a priority since you could be in big danger! Just because you annoy me all the freaking time doesn't mean you aren't my friend and I don't care about you, To come here and find out you were just lazing around while the rest of us had to worry and get stuck in difficult situations… I'm surprised I bothered to go after you at all!"

Shippo was quiet at first. Then he said " So… you don't care about me?"

" Shippo, it's the opposite. I care about you, that's why I rushed here. But I realised I was worried for nothing. I just feel stupid alright!" I yelled. Then I started to walk away.

" Kanade!" Shippo called out for me.

" Shut up!" I yelled as I went through the gate, an electric shock zapped me and I fell backwards. Ouch! What the heck? I looked at the gate again. I could see a translucent barrier. Huh?

" Koryu, get Rin and Kohaku." I heard Souten ordered Koryu. Then Koryu took flight and flew through the barrier. What? How can he go through while I can't. The barrier didn't stop us from entering before. Unless it was made for people to come in and not out.

" I'm sorry Kanade for all that trouble. I didn't expect you to see through my planned traps. I only did it because I didn't want any interference with the battle." Souten said as she walked towards me and squat beside me.

" What battle?" I asked.

" Well… we haven't started it yet. The traps were suppose to delay you until the battle is over." Souten said.

" Then what was that earlier?" I asked.

" Just catching up on things. The battle is not out of vengeance. I just want to see how strong Shippo got. And if I can match up to him." Souten said. I stood up. I was still suspicious of her. " Then why did you get Kohaku and Rin now?"

" Well it's no use to hold them back when you already escaped my trap and possibly interfere so I'll let you guys stay." Souten said. I was silent. I didn't know whether I should trust her or not. Since Shippo trusts her… I guess I could try to trust her. But something in me tells me not to.

…

Kirara stared at the large fish on her plate. She was thinking if she should eat it or not. I was practically doing the same. Kirara has a good reason, the last time she ate the fish she fell fast asleep. I was worried the same thing would happen to me. We were now having lunch in one of the rooms of the large castle. Rin and Kohaku arrived and were now enjoying Souten's hospitality. Shippo had no problem trusting her. Koryu was eating some jewel like rocks. He says it's his meal since the food we eat is like gum to him.

Rin looked at me and then at my meal. She asked me " Aren't you hungry?"

I kept quiet. Souten sighed and said " I don't have anything against you alright. It's not posioned. You too Kirara, I didn't put anything into your fish this time."

Kirara sniffed her food again and looked at me. I sniffed the air and shook my head. Kirara quickly ate her food. I picked my chopsticks and started to eat. Soon I was eating quickly. I didn't know I was so hungry. Souten smiled. I just sighed. Maybe I was too wary around her. But I should keep my guard up.

" I'm sorry everyone. I didn't want you to get hurt. I just thought I should repeat the past to make you think it was a real battle. Maybe my stupid excuse to see Shippo again went to far." Souten said, blushing. I rolled my eyes.

" No, it's okay. You are very smart to set up all those traps." Kohaku said.

" Thank you." Souten said.

" Why now anyway, we're kind of busy now." I said.

" I know, you four are chasing after Shiguri right? Though I don't know your intentions." Souten said.

" We're all just following Kanade." Rin said " I came along so that I train myself to be better and fight alongside Sesshomaru-sama!"

" Shiguri is a powerful demon and as a demon slayer I should go after him for provoking the villagers in Japan." Kohaku said. Souten then looked at me. I didn't answer.

" You don't trust me do you? I guess that's expected." Souten said. " Is her trust hard to earn?"

" No. We get along just fine with her when we met her." Rin said " I guess your elaborate schemes makes her suspicious of you."

" I'm right here you know." I mumbled.

" How about you Shippo? Why are you coming along?" Souten asked him.

" Well… to help her." Shippo said.

" Just to help her? No grudge, no benefit or what so ever?" Souten asked.

" It's because of her own reason to go after Shiguri. I want to help her." Shippo said. I just snorted. Rin looked at me. She whispered beside me " Are you okay?"

" I'm fine, why?" I asked.

" You're so kind Shippo." Souten said, smiling and blushing. Oh my gosh, this looks so annoying. I started to eat my food faster, coughing.

" Kanade?" Rin asked. Everyone looked at me weirdly.

" I chocked on a grain… s- cah! sorry…" I said.

" There's one more question I would like to ask." Kohaku said to Souten.

" What's that?" Souten replied.

" Why is there a barrier around your castle? Are you trying to prevent someone from coming in?" Kohaku said.

" It's not a barrier to keep others out." I said. Then I glared at Souten " It's to keep people in."

Souten was quiet at first. Then she said " So that's the main reason why you don't trust me. I'm surprised you noticed Kohaku. Yes, I did put a barrier to prevent people from escaping."

" Why?" Rin asked.

" I am serious about the battle. The last time Shippo and I fought we were evenly matched. I've grown in power and so did he, I want to see who's stronger." Souten said.

" Can't you wait for another time?" I asked. " We're kind of in a hurry here. Shiguri is planning something in the North and we have to go after him." Then I stood up " Thank you for your hospitality but we have to leave so can you please dispatch your barrier."

" No." Souten said immediately.

" Come on, there's no time for such stupid trivial matters." I said " We really have to go."

" What's the problem with one single battle?" Souten said, standing up.

" What's wrong with letting us pass?" I said, my voice grew louder as I stepped forwards towards her. We were glaring at each other. This girl is just… argh!

" It'll be over in 5 to 10 minutes, there's no harm." Souten said.

" An each minute Shiguri would have ether killed or destroyed lives of innocent people. I don't mean just humans." I said.

" Souten! Kanade! There's no need to argue! I'm sure we can figure something out." Shippo said as he got up and tried to push us apart.

" Souten's just being stubborn. We need to get to Shiguri and fast!" I yelled at Shippo.

" She's being uptight!" Souten yelled.

" I'm uptight! You are just delaying us from our mission because you just wanna see Shippo." I yelled at her.

" So?!" Souten exclaimed.

Shippo then felt awkward and stepped back. He whispered something to Rin and Kohaku as Souten and I kept on arguing. She's unbelievable! She doesn't know the whole story. She know who we are so she thinks she understands us. She's wrong. Especially about me. No one can understand the pain I'm feeling. The effort and anger within me. No one.

" I'm leaving! I don't care if there's a stupid barrier. I'm going to force my way out!" I yelled as I stomped out of the room.

" I'll give you information on Shiguri!" Souten yelled at me. I stopped in my tracks. What did she just say? Information about Shiguri. Well… I don't know much about this demon himself. I only know about two of his servants and what he plans to do. Not much about him or other important information. Souten and Koryu managed to find out about us without us knowing. They are reliable.

" Come again?" I asked.

" I won't put down his barrier until one of you have defeated me. If you do, I'll tell you the much information I know about Shiguri and his servants. Much." Souten said. Emphasising on the ' much'.

" Who do you want to fight?" I asked.

" Shippo." Souten said " Obviously."

I was quiet. Then I said " Okay, we can do the match."

" Hey! Aren't I suppose to agree and not you!" Shippo exclaimed.

" Shut up!" I scolded him. Then Souten cheered " Yay! Thank you Kanade!"

" On a few conditions." I added. Souten stopped cheering and became quiet.

" First, we are allowed to exchange members anytime. For example, Shippo nearly gets defeated, he can be replaced with someone else like Kohaku or me to fight in his place. You may do the same for Koryu. We have more members but that's because we need to be on our way fast. Kirara will not be involved to make things more fair. Second, you do not pull any tricks during the fight. Seeing as how you are smart when playing tricks on people. That would be cheating. Lastly, the information you tell us must ber relevant and important to what we need." I said.

" I'm sure you will find my information useful." Souten said, smirking.

" What is she getting out of this?" Rin asked.

" We would stay here until we've finally defeated her." Kohaku told her.

" Hey! She's going to fight me you know! How can you just agree on this!" Shippo exclaimed.

" I don't see the problem." I told Shippo. " I wanna get out of here as soon as possible. Just take it as an apology for making me worry."

" Okay…" Shippo murmured. I smirked. Yes, we'll get out of here! We went out into the courtyard outside the building. Souten happily skipped to the otheside of the courtyard while Shippo took his place across her. Kohaku, Kirara, Rin and I stood by the side. Koryu flew to the space between the two. Souten seems excited, and nervous. I could see her blushing while looking at Shippo. It's so obvious Souten has a crush on Shippo. For some reason, it irked me. I'm not sure if Shippo notice this though. I can't believe Souten is making us stay back from our mission because of some stupid crush! It angered me.

" Okay! Ready?" Koryu said.

" Wait!" Souten said. Then she pulled out something from her pocket. It looked like a small mallet. Suddenly, it drew into a huge size. The heavy hammer hit the ground, causing a hole in the ground. We jumped at the small earthquake. Shippo looked nervous already. " Now I'm ready."

" Can I take out my weapon?" Shippo asked.

" Of course." Koryu said. Then Shippo looked at his pockets, searching for something. Wait, he doesn't have a weapon powerful. Only his foxfire. Then he said " Um… can I get one now?"

" Just fight Shippo!" I yelled. Shippo jumped in shock. Then he said " I'm ready."

" Ready? One, two…" Koryu counted. Souten tightened the grip on her mallet, Shippo prepared to jump. " Three!" Koryu shouted before flying towards us to move away. Souten didn't attack immediately. She was analysing the situation. Shippo was getting nervous. Then he thought of something. Shippo reached for something in his pocket. Souten took the chance to attack, She lifted up her heavy mallet and charged towards Shippo. Shippo quickly pulled out his toy snake and it grew into a large size. Souten jumped. Shippo used the snake to block the attack. Then Shippo jumped away and aimed his foxfire at her. Souten saw it just in time and moved out of the way. She landed on the ground.

" Heh, you've gotten better." Souten said.

" I would say the same." Shippo then said. " Let's see how you handle this!" Then Shippo multiplied to make many of himself. Then all the duplicates and Shippo surrounded Souten. Souten looked around carefully. Then all the Shippos said " Ha, try to find out which one is the real one."

" Who says I need to choose?" Souten said. " Lightning ring!" a bolt of lightning surrounded Souten's waist as she put her arms out before expanding. All the Shippos quickly ran away, most of them were hit and exploded into puffs of gas. The real Shippo jumped up to dodge it just in time.

" That trick doesn't work on-" before Souten could finish, Shippo took out his mini bombs and threw it at Souten's direction. She jumped out of the way.

" Laughing acorns!" She said as she threw a bunch of acorns that… laughed, and prepared her hammer. Shippo dodged and aimed on the ground " Weeping Mushrooms!" The weeping mushrooms hit the ground, creating a soft pillow on the ground. So that the moment she threw down her hammer, nothing much happened. Shippo landed on the ground and started shooting fox fire balls at her, She dodged a few and hit some back at Shippo with her hammer.

I ca't really describe the rest of the battle because they were battling for so long. I know Shippo's pretty strong, so that means Souten must be to if she's able to go on for so long. I think it's mainly because they can predict each other's moves. Their skills are similar. It went on for so long Kirara started laying down and relaxed. Rin yawned once.

" They are evenly matched." Kohaku said.

" Yeah, I wonder if Shippo's tired." Rin said.

" He better not." I said. " He would lose that way." Then the two stopped and panted. They may have no taken any damage but they are sure tired.

" Not bad Shippo… not bad." Souten panted.

" You too…" Shippo panted. " You might win." I saw Souten blush a bit, that bad feeling came again.

" Do you want to rest?" Koryu asked.

" No. I'm fine." Souten said. Then I've got an idea. In our rules, we can exchange anytime. It might be a good time to do it.

" Shippo, change." I said as I stepped forward.

" I'm fine Kanade. I still can go on." Shippo said.

" No. I will fight her." I said.

" I said I can go on." Shippo said as he looked at me. Then I quickly stooped down and whispered in his ear " Trust me, rest. I'll take over." Then I stood up tall. Shippo was hesitant at first but then he said to Souten " Kanade will take over."

Then Shippo walked away. I drew a long water whip from my water pouch. Koryu look worried and said to Souten " Souten, you're tired. Let's switch." Souten was quiet. Then she said " Alright. But switch back when I tell you to."

Then Souten walked away while Koryu took her place. If Souten and Shippo are so evenly matched, the match won't end But if we changed at least one of us, one of us will win. We may get out faster, besides Souten already had her fight.

" Uh oh." Koryu said as he looked at me. Then I aimed my water whip at his feet. Koryu tried to fly away but the whip wrapped around his feet. Then I pulled him towards me. Koryu panicked and fell unto the ground. This will be easy. Then I tossed the whip over my head to the other side. Koryu flung towards the other side, hitting his head on the ground. Souten didn't seem worried. Doesn't she know she's already lost. I tossed Koryu back and forth, Koryu doesn't seem to be resisting. When he hit his head for the third time, he changed into a cloud. What? So that's why she wasn't worried.

Koryu flew up to the sky and laughed. Then he said " Now! Face my wrath!" Then lighting bolts shot from the cloud and rained down on me. I quickly tried to dodge them. One of them hit my ankle and it stings. Ouch! How am I suppose to defeat this guy?

" Go Kanade! You can do it!" Rin exclaimed.

" Try hitting his head again three times!" Kohaku exclaimed.

" And you guys didn't cheer for me?" Shippo said.

" Sorry. But you were doing fine." Rin said to him. I ignored them and jumped away from the next parade of bolts. I need to get up there! I can't keep running around. Koryu's trying to make me tired. I jumped up high. Then I got unto him, hitting his head once. Koryu panicked and flew around quickly. I was nearly blown off but I held on highly to Koryu. I then hit his head twice more. Koryu turned into a dragon and I jumped off.

Koryu looked at me. Then he flew towards my direction.

" SWITCH!" Souten yelled as she got into the arena. What?! Koryu stopped flying in midway and Souten came to my direction from another side. She was holding her hammer. Then she hit my back with it. I was thrown off and I landed on the ground. Ouch…

" Kanade!" Rin called out.

" I'm fine…" I said as I slowly got up. " Smart move…"

" You said anytime right?" Souten said " So why not in a middle of a battle. Don't worry. This will be my last switch."

" So you want to battle with me now?" I asked.

" I don't like you at all." Souten said. I laughed. I knew it.

" Strange, so do I." I said as I stood up tall. We focused on each other. I could hear Shippo's commotion in the background but I don't care. Then Souten threw her laughing acorns. I jumped out of the way. Souten's may have the upper hand but she's in a serious disadvantage.

" Water slash!" I yelled as I used my whip to shoot blade at her. She missed a few and hit some back in my direction. Instead of jumping away, I stopped it within my hands and drew back all the water I've thrown back in my hand.

" What? You can do that?" Souten exclaimed.

" I haven't been using much of my other moves. I know you've been spying on me. Yes, I often use the water whip and my water blades, but I have other moves up my sleeve." I said. Then I ran forward and turned my blades into ice. It wasn't an easy move to master but I realised how to do it one day in the winter. " Ice blades!" Icicles shot at Souten's direction. She didn't see it come from behind and got a few scatches. Release tension. The icicles melted and I drew it back into my hand.

" Wow!" Kohaku exclaimed.

" Yay Kanade!" Rin cheered.

" Well I still have a few tricks up my sleeve!" Souten yelled. " Ligthning bolt!" A lightning bolt shot in my direction. I quickly used my water as a circular shield in front of me. The lighting bolt hit the water. I had two seconds before I myself get injured. I shot the shield at Souten's direction. Souten jumped out of the way. When the electricity has passed. I withdrew my water again.

" How are you reusing your water?!" Souten said. " You've never done it before!"

" I've been to grassy places, so I can't retrieve water from the soil. I've away been near the river to train my own special moves. And, lucky for me, we're in a courtyard, where stone is everywhere and water's not easily lost." I said. Then Souten darted forward and hit me with the hammer. It was an unexpected attack so I was hit unto the ground. Souten used her lightning bolt to hit me again like a sword. I jumped out of the way.

Then we were close. Before I drew my water, she used her fist to hit my jaw. I stumbled backwards. Then she kept hitting me with her fists while I tried to block them with my arms.

" You," Souten growled. " You think you can be so close to him! Damn you!"

" What are you talking about?" I said as I dodged.

" You were jealous when you came here. You've been like that since you came here. You like him don't you?" Souten said as she tried to land attacks on me. What? Oh, she thinks I like Shippo?! I blushed at the thought. Souten took the chance to hit me with her mallet. I was hit aside. I was weak. I tried to stand up. It hurts. Souten laughed as she walked towards me and looked down at me. I looked at her.

" Well too bad. You can't have him. He likes me better than you." Souten spat at me. That stabbed my heart. Why? Why did that comment hurt? It's not suppose to. I'm not suppose to care, but I did. And it sounds… true. I became angry. Then I quickly got up and kicked Souten's legs, causing her to fall. I quickly got up, drew more water from my water pouch and wrapped the water around Souten's limbs before freezing the water. Souten was imprisoned. She tried to make me lose my concentration by swing her body towards my legs but I stepped out of the way. Then I pin her down by stepping on her back. Souten struggled.

" Hey!" Souten yelled.

" Give it up Souten. I win." I said

" Never!" Souten said.

" Stop being stubborn, you act like a silly child." I said.

" I am not a child!" Souten said.

" I said you act like one." I said. " Using those words to try and weaken me, that's a pretty little trick you have there. But it doesn't work. You think I'm jealous of you? Because I interrupted your little moment? Sounds more like you're the jealous one."

Souten was quiet. Everyone seems to be staring at us. Then I said " Souten, grow up."

Souten then sighed. Then she said " Fine… I lost. I got what I wanted anyway. But Kanade, do you like Shippo?"

I blushed at the thought. Do I really like Shippo? Am I actually jealous of Souten? I was quiet. Should I lie or tell the truth. Do I even know the answer to that? I smiled and said " Why should I tell you?" I released her from her bonds and Souten got up.

" Kanade! You won!" Rin exclaimed as she went to me.

" Good job." Kohaku said. Kirara leaped towards me and jumped in my arms. She meowed. I laughed.

" Now you have to tell us everything you found out to know about Shiguri." Kohaku said.

" You mean I found out. She made me do all the work." Koryu mentioned. Souten glared at Koryu. Koryu kept quiet, but sighed. I looked at Shippo. He seems confused.

" Hey Shippo! You coming over?" I called out. Shippo freaked and and did a funny pose, he was stammering and his face was red. What the hell is he doing?

" Stop acting like a chicken and come over here." I added. Shippo stopped and said " Eh?"

" Don't you need to hear what I'm going to say?" Souten said. Shippo relaxed and said " O-oh, right." Then Shippo walked over and stood beside Kohaku, eyeing me suspiciously. What?

" Alright. I'll keep my promise. I'll let you leave and tell you all I know about Shiguri. Shiguri is a python demon who rose to power recently. Not many people saw him, but they say he's looks like a human but has all over his body. He has made promises and past to four people who are now known as his servants." Souten said.

" Like Kasairyu and Tsurukina." Kohaku said.

" Yes. There are two others. There is Akumu, the dream demon. Akumu is a tall woman with jet black hair and always wears black clothes. Her skill is to enter your minds, make you fall asleep and dream your worst nightmares. There is also Tanken, the knife demon. Tanken has sharp knives growing out of his body like spines. So you might want to be careful. They also have something to hide their aura." Souten said.

" And prevent them from being sniffed out. I tried that." I said.

" It's called the Fuyoheki." Souten said.

" The Fuyoheki?!" Shippo exclaimed.

" You know what is it?" I asked.

" We all do, it was a mystical stone able to mask demonic aura." Kohaku told me.

" But the last time we saw it, it was sucked into Miroku's wind tunnel. It can't be it." Shippo said.

" Of course it's not." Souten said " I heard of that too and I thought it was fishy. It turns out that there are other stones like it. Fuyoheki isn't a name of a stone but of a type of stone. It is very rare."

" Then how is Shiguri able to find at least four stones, not to mention one for himself." Rin said.

" Shiguri has only one, but it broke into four. He gave one to each servant." Souten said.

" And not for himself?" Shippo asked. Souten nodded.

" Then he must be very confident that no one will find him." I said.

" He is, Koryu nor I can find out where he is or anything much about him. We only know about what we heard from the servants." Souten said " They fear him, because he has a special move that his very dangerous."

" What is that?" Rin asked.

" I don't know." Souten said " We weren't able to find out."

" Do you know anything about what they are doing in the north?" Kohaku asked.

" Yes. They say they are going to find a new servant there." Souten said.

" A new servant?" Shippo asked.

" Yes. They know he's heading towards the northern yoko wolf tribe in the mountains." Souten explained " They need to track down him because he's extremely fast and extremely strong. They are tracking him down more than Shiguri had with them because he's not only powerful but also somehow related to you Kanade."

" Me?" I said. " But I don't have any powerful relatives, all those I've known are gone."

" I do not mean by blood. It could be anything related to you." Souten said.

" I wonder who he is." Rin said " He sounds a lot like Koga."

" But Koga's running the tribe. It can't be him, let alone Ayame." Shippo said." Is the tribe still in the mountains?"

" Yes, it's a large tribe. Despite the fact most of Koga's original tribe is wiped out." I said.

" With the commotion in the north, Koga will definitely be there." Rin said.

" He must have some business in the yoko northern wolf tribe. Maybe he's got something to do with Koga." Kohaku said.

" Then we need to get there before this servant does." I said.

" He's not a servant yet. He seems to know Shiguri wants him so he's running." Souten said.

" Then we will beat Shiguri to him." I said. " The servants aren't far behind. This way we can battle them face to face and force them to reveal where Shiguri is."

" Well, that's all I know of Shiguri." Souten said. Then she went to the barrier and touched it with her hand. The barrier dissolved into the air. Then she looked at us and said " You can go now."

" Thank for your hospitality!" Rin said.

" No problem." Souten said " I'm not that bad you know."

Then Souten went to Shippo, hugged his arm and looked at him. Shippo freaked out. There was that bad feeling again… " Hey Shippo, you will visit again right?"

" U-um when I have the time." Shippo said.

" Really?! That's great!" Souten exclaimed. I sighed then started to leave with the gang. Then I called out to Shippo " Shippo! We're going to leave you behind."

" H-hey! Wait for me!" Shippo yelled as he said a quickly goodbye to Souten and run after us. He finally caught up with the rest of us. Then he went to me.

" You two were fighting over me earlier ago?" Shippo asked me. I blushed, we weren't really fighting over him right? I did it for the information on Shiguri. I told Shippo " No, Souten was. I was just defending myself and attacking to know about Shiguri."

" T-then what was she talking about?" Shippo said.

" Oh some stupid idea that she thinks I have a crush on you or something." I said. Shippo blushed a deep red. For some reason, I felt myself blush too. Oh shit, why did I tell him that?

" D-do you?" Shippo stammered. I felt myself blush, my heart was pounding. Snap it out Kanade. Concentrate on your mission. You have to avenge your tribe, not go for some stupid love story.

Why they heck did I think of that?!

" W-w-why should I tell you?" I said. Then I walked forward. Shippo looks confused. Then I added " W-when you already know the answer."

Shippo was quiet. Then he said " No… I don't."

" Give it up Shippo. We have to go to the north as soon as possible." Kohaku said.

" Yeah. You can talk to her about that later." Rin said. Kirara meowed. Then Shippo walks along side with us, keeping quiet. I wasn't lying to Shippo though. He doesn't know the answer, I don't know the answer myself.

* * *

><p>I think you guys can tell by now Kanade and Shippo are slowly falling in love. XP Oh well. I hope you like this chapter! :)<p> 


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